Welp here it is. I feel like I'm getting lazy and uncreative. Oh well. The sooner I finish this the sooner I can start on another one. And I promise there will be no OCs except for a villain and lots of time with the regulars.
If you guys have any ideas of what I should do for the next one you should tell me because I'm uncreative and losing interest in writing. You're a butt.
Nope. Still don't own Prince of Tennis.
Well here's the final chapter. Enjoy!
He finally made his way to the back of the house where he heard meowing and scratching. He opened a few doors before he opened the one to his father's bedroom. Karupin came flying out. Echizen was going to go after him but a very pungent smell hit his nose. He opened the door further to discover the source and when he saw what it was he dropped to his knees with an overwhelming feeling of sickness.
His father was lying on the floor in front of his in a pool of his blood with his katana sticking out of his chest.
"Did we really just come for clothes?" Romeo asked. "Couldn't you have just come by yourself?" He was currently looking through Echizen's things while Ryoga was actually getting things his brother would need.
"I could have but I didn't want to." Ryoga replied. "This house always gave me the creeps; it always has, ever since I was little."
"Are you saying that your house is haunted?"
"Well it could be. You never know. I mean haven't you seen The Grudge? That house looked perfectly normal but it had dead bodies in the attic and a ghost that killed like five people just because they looked at her wrong. Don't forget about the little cat boy either."
"I never knew you were so superstitious. There's no such thing as ghost and I highly doubt that the little cat boy is in your house." Just then there was a meow outside of Echizen's door. The both of them jumped and sweat dropped several times as the door got pushed open slightly and had Karupin walk in. "See? There's no such thing as ghosts." He went and picked the cat up.
"This doesn't prove anything." Ryoga huffed.
Romeo sat on the bed and pet Karupin. While petting him he noticed he had something sticky on his stomach in his fur. Upon closer inspection he found it was blood. "What's wrong kitty? Did you hurt yourself?"
"What's wrong?" Ryoga asked.
"He has blood on his stomach. Not a lot but do you think he hurt himself?"
"There shouldn't be anything he could hurt himself with unless there's a door open somewhere and he got outside. Are you sure it's blood? Maybe it's from a bush outside or sap from a tree."
"I've seen enough blood to know what it looks like." Romeo examined the cat. "It doesn't seem to be his. Maybe Ryoma's wound opened and he touched it."
Ryoga shrugged. "He's so reckless I wouldn't doubt it. Let's go find him. We're pretty much through here anyways." The two of them left the room and went into the hall. "Karupin where is Chibisuke?" Romeo put the cat down and the two of them followed as he led the way through the house and to Echizen. The two of them were surprised to say the least when they found him in the back of the house and kneeling in front of their father's room.
Upon closer inspection the smell hit their noses and they understood why Echizen did acknowledge them; he was too busy looking at the mangled body of their father. Romeo frowned and went in the room to further examine the body. Ryoga didn't know what he felt; confusion, anger, sadness. Most likely a combination of all three. He made his way and crouched in front of his brother. Echizen just sat there completely void of emotions except for the lite stream of tears going down his face. He didn't know what he was thinking so he did the only thing he could think of; he hugged him and Echizen hugged him back.
"Ryoga." Romeo's tone was that of discontent. "We're going to have to go to the police."
"Why? It's not like we've had to before." Ryoga was angry. He held his brother tighter. "We don't need to get anyone else involved."
"We don't have a choice. If it was another low life then fine but this- this is your father; notorious tennis player Samurai Nanjiro. Even though he disappeared from the tennis world you can't hide his existence completely nor can you hide his death. We need to tell the police."
Ryoga scoffed. "Do whatever you want. If these bastards are making it personal then-"
"Stop it." Echizen voice was slightly muffed. "We're not sinking to their level."
"Chibisuke-"
"I said no." He clenched the back of Ryoga's shirt. "I don't want to risk losing you too." He couldn't fight that. They only had each other now and he couldn't leave him alone.
Ryoga let out a small smile and put their foreheads together. "I won't be going anywhere." He pulled away from his brother to see what had happened to his father so Karupin took his place.
Echizen gladly accepted the cat. His emotions were varied between fury, grief, anxiousness, and confusion. His father was dead and it was definitely the Eagles that did it he just didn't understand how. His father was a master swordsman and he could handle himself in difficult situations. He didn't understand how they were able to get into the house without being detected and kill him. It was also strange because the rest of the house wasn't messed up. There didn't seem to be any signs of a struggle. Just then his phone rang.
He was a bit surprised to see Kikumaru's ID pop up but answered it nonetheless. "Moshi moshi?"
"Ochibi!" Kikumaru's voice rang into it. "Ochibi you gotta help us! We-" His voice was cut off and replaced with a new one. "Echizen Ryoma." The voice on the other line was not one he was proud to hear. "We visited your father. I must say he is difficult to get along with at times. I can't say the same for your teammates though. They've all been cooperative so far. I'll give you two options: you can hand over leadership of that pathetic clan of yours, or I'll start killing everyone you've ever known and you get to live knowing it was your fault they died. Either way I win. I told you to remember something last time we met. What is my name?"
Echizen was fuming. He didn't want to say it. All he wanted to do was get his friends back. "It would be in your friend's interest if you answered me. I don't like to repeat myself." His voice was filled with malice. "What is my name?"
"Bei Jinzhou." Echizen's voice was barely above a whisper.
"Know your place. In a week's time. I look forward to seeing you." The line dead and Echizen hung up and let his face go dark.
"Chibisuke who was that?" Ryoga asked as he and Romeo went into the hall.
"Tomorrow." Echizen's tone was full of loathing. No way was he going to wait a week to see what would happen. "We're going to their base tomorrow. I'm going to make that bastard regret the day he decided to take us on."
That day at school started out normal enough even without Echizen there. Momo still didn't like riding to school alone and he certainly didn't like people from the clan following them around everywhere but everyone thought it was for the best. Just like Echizen said it was a precaution. They didn't know how much they needed them until the end of the morning practice.
"Were we going to see Echizen again after school today?" Kawamura asked the group as they were changing.
"I doubt he's changed that much in one night." Kaidou said.
"You don't have to come if you don't want to." Oishi said.
"I never said that."
"He sees us every day though. One day won't kill him." Momo said. There was an awkward and uneasy silence. "I should've worded that better."
"Nyaa but why wouldn't you want to see Ochibi?" Kikumaru asked. "Especially now. Don't you think seeing us makes him happy?"
"Haven't you noticed he's been distancing himself from us?" Inui said. "Ever since we found out, you think he would be more open about everything but it seems he's even more reclusive."
"Maybe it's just a façade." Fuji said. "We know about it so why should he try to hide it? Didn't it seem like after his mother's death he was spending more time with everyone? This is how his life is now. Maybe he just doesn't have time for us now. What do you think Tezuka?"
"That's his life." Tezuka answered. "If that's how it has to be then that's how it'll be. We can't make him change."
"No way! Ochibi always has time for us! I don't care if he's a mob boss he was our friend first!" Kikumaru stormed out of the club room.
Everyone sighed. Inui and Fuji were right about Echizen distancing himself from them but the fact of the matter was because being with him put them in danger more so now than any other time. The only reason it was opposite from when they didn't know is because Echizen was probably claiming them so a point; they were his close friends who didn't need to know anything and that was his way of saying back off. Now that they know and are involved it makes them greater targets for getting attacked just like Echizen. Backing out of everything wouldn't make it any less frightening either. The only thing they could really do was stick with him until everything was over or some external factor caused them to leave.
The regulars gathered their things and all headed outside. Strangely enough they weren't met with their protection posse that they were slowing becoming used to. Instead as they rounded the corner they were met once again by Kikumaru.
"Didn't you go to class?" The group watched as he stood there; his lower lip quivering slightly and his whole body trembling.
"Sorry boys. No classes for you today." Bei came out with a pistol pointed at Kikumaru's head. "Although I don't know anyone who actually enjoys school so you're welcome." Everyone froze. "You're going to come with us for a while." His clan members came out and surrounded them. "We've already taken care of everything. You won't be missed."
They had no options; they had to go. They all started walking like it was nothing even though they were terrified beyond belief. Kikumaru was still with Bei and they lead the group passed their knocked out protectors to the front of the school where a rather large car was waiting for them. They all piled in with Bei in the front passenger seat and one other person to drive. As they drove off they all noticed the windows were tinted and made them very difficult to see out of.
They drove for about an hour then finally arrived at their destination. Like Echizen's it was a warehouse but larger and multistoried. They were ushered out of the car and into the building where they got jeered at by everyone they passed. Aside from the fact that it was big it was pretty much the same building as the other. They were led into the back and down stairs then placed in a rather large, empty room with no windows and one way in and out.
"I consider myself a civil man." Bei started. "Answer my questions and do as you're told and you won't be harmed. Simple as that. Make me angry or say something out of turn and I may not turn out to be as civil as I say."
"When did it start, before you kidnapped us or after you let us go?" Momo scoffed.
Bei watched Momo. "Don't test your luck. You should be grateful that I kept you alive this long."
"If you wanted to kill us you would've done so already." The regulars were telling Momo to shut up. "The fact of the matter is you need us to get to Echizen. You have no choice but to keep us alive."
Bei walked in front of Momo then backhanded him. "You're like him. You don't think about the consequences. I may not be able to kill you but that doesn't mean we can't do anything to pass the time until he comes or even if he comes. You're lackeys now. You're expendable." He walked over to Kikumaru. "Call him."
"N-Nani?" Kikumaru stuttered.
"Are you going deaf?" He got in his face. "Call him."
Kikumaru took out his phone and dialed Echizen and was happy that he basically picked up on the first few rings.
"Moshi moshi?" There was something about Echizen's voice that he could really pin point but all he could think about was telling him they had been captured.
"Ochibi!" He shouted into the phone. "Ochibi you gotta help us! We-" The phone was taken from his hand before he could say anything.
"Echizen Ryoma." Bei's voice then rang into it in a way too happy manner. "We visited your father. I must say he is difficult to get along with at times. I can't say the same for your teammates though. They've all been cooperative so far. I'll give you two options: you can hand over leadership of that pathetic clan of yours, or I'll start killing everyone you've ever known and you get to live knowing it was your fault they died. Either way I win. I told you to remember something last time we met. What is my name?"
He was met with silence and it was a thing he didn't like. "It would be in your friend's interest if you answered me. I don't like to repeat myself." His voice was filled with malice. "What is my name?"
"Bei Jinzhou." He heard Echizen barely whisper into the phone.
"Know your place. In a week's time. I look forward to seeing you." He hung up the phone and shoved it into his pocket. "Take theirs too. We don't want anyone to make an unnecessary calls that could wind up getting someone hurt now do we?" The regulars all took out their phones and gave them to one of his members. "You're coming with us." He pointed to Momo.
"I already came with you." Momo said. "Hence why we're here in the first place."
"Momo maybe it would be a good idea to not piss off the angry man with the gun." Kawamura whispered.
Bei scoffed and had one of his men grab Momo and accompany him from that room into another. He knew for one thing that he wasn't going to make Momo's stay there pleasant.
"You guys sure took your time." Yukio said as Ryoma, Ryoga, and Romeo walked back into the building. "I didn't expect you to be more than an hour at most."
"Did you have another fight with Nanjiro-sama?" A clan member yelled.
"He never visits anymore." One whined.
Echizen, who was holding Karupin, gripped him tighter. Normally he would have some sort of comeback because these were the things that were normally said when he went home and took longer to get back then what was said. He remained indifferent to the voices around him and walked through the base to his room. Ryoga was also quiet but he knew he had to tell everyone what happened but the words wouldn't come out.
Romeo placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him an expression saying he should just go to his brother and he would handle everything. Ryoga gave him an apologetic nod then went to the same room Echizen did. Romeo went to Yukio and Josiah and told them to get everyone in the room. They were a bit confused as to why but did it nonetheless. He also questioned where Lyon and Tanaka where and got an answer of them meeting with the other clan leaders and giving them details about where the Eagle's base was. He really wished they were there. He didn't want to have to repeat himself.
Once everyone was gathered he began speaking. "As you all know, a few days ago Ryoma was attacked by the leader of the Eagles and much to our excitement we were able to locate their headquarters." Everyone cheered. "I know we said we would wait on an assault but we're leaving tomorrow. Everyone will need to be prepared for what will be in store." The room was filled with confused murmurs. "Before you ask why, while we were at the house we received a phone call. The Eagles have captured Ryoma's teammates and-" He paused for a second and took in a shaky breath. "We found Nanjiro-sama brutally murder in his bedroom." Everyone was silent at that. "We don't know what happened but there was no sign of a break in."
A murmur went through the crowd. There was no way anyone would be able to take down Nanjiro, especially in his own home. They were prepared if something like that happened. The Echizen family would run drills, both planned and not, where clan members would attempt to break into the house and kill them. There was only once where they managed to infiltrate it but that was due to an old family friend that had visited.
"We had to inform the police and that's why we were late." Romeo continued. "Unlike the other times where we've had to deal with death, Nanjiro-sama was a world known tennis player so his death couldn't go unnoticed. They know that this was a mafia related death but we asked them to keep quiet about it. They're going to say it was a break-in that went wrong and let us handle everything. Under no circumstances are you to engage anyone from their clan until orders are given tomorrow."
The crowd of clan members silently started talking among themselves and disbanding. Romeo sat down felling dejected. Nanjiro was a father not just to Ryoga and Echizen but basically to everyone there. Yukio and Josiah walked over to him with both astonished and crestfallen faces.
"Ryoma wants to inform the other clan head about it so they can help with our assault." Romeo stated quietly. "But I don't think he'll want to talk to anyone other than Ryoga for a while."
"Lyon and Tanaka are out going from clan to clan." Josiah said. "We could call them and give them the information to pass along."
"When did they leave? No doubt they're almost finished with everything."
"About an hour or so after you guys did." Yukio replied. "There's still plenty of daylight left and calling them would prove to be our best option." Yukio looked at his brother. It was hard enough for him to tell everyone of Nanjiro's death once. "We'll call them for you. Why don't you work on our blueprint for tomorrow?"
Romeo nodded and slowly walked into another room while Yukio took out his phone and called Tanaka.
Echizen was sitting on the side of his bed with a lite stream of tears going down his cheeks and Karupin in his lap. He doesn't remember crying when his mother died. Maybe it was because he couldn't. He never took must interest in the mafia life other than the normal things to expect. He visited with the clan every now and again but before he took over there really wasn't any interaction. His mother's death was abrupt then he was suddenly thrown into a new life. He didn't have time to grieve with his mother but now that his father had also been killed it was over-whelming.
He sat on the bed still cuddling Karupin while Ryoga set his things down which was more than they had originally planned seeing as his house was now a crime scene and he wouldn't be able to stay there for a while. "Chibisuke-" He wanted to comfort his brother but was at a loss for words. "How are your wounds? Do you need anything?"
Echizen shook his head. "I'm fine."
His tone made Ryoga's heart drop. "If you want put the assault to a later day, no one will think less of you. It doesn't have to be tomorrow."
"Yes it does." Echizen wiped the tears from his face. "He has the team and I'm not going to wait to see what he's going to do with them." He let out an exhausted sigh. "He's already killed two of my family members and I don't want there to be any more. I don't want any more blood spilled."
"I know you're trying to be strong about this but the fact of the matter is you don't have to be." Ryoga sat next to him. "Bottling up your emotions had repercussions. I know you're supposed to be a strong leader for everything; grieving won't make you look weak. It's a display of emotions people are too afraid to show. You need to let everything out that you've been holding since Kaa-san's death."
"It's not that-" He wanted to. He wanted to cry until everything was out of his system.
Ryoga wrapped an arm around him. "It's alright. We'll get your friends out of this and settle the score we have. Everything will turn out." Echizen turned and hugged his brother, fresh tears going down his face. Ryoga hugged him tighter. He was going to make them pay for what they had done.
Tanaka drew in an exhausted breath. "This wasn't supposed to take so long. We were just supposed to drop by with the map, explain a bit then leave." Of course he was referring to the visits they had paid to two of their three allies. Seeing as Kazu had a similar personality to Nanjiro, when they arrived at the base and very similar to their own group the day before, they were celebrating. They didn't know what exactly but it made it more difficult to explain why they were there even though they had informed them they would be dropping by.
Riku on the other hand, being a man of business, didn't let them leave until he knew every little detail about what had happened since he first attack at school and every event leading up to finding their hideout. They were now heading over to Atobe's hideout to tell him the details. They were hoping that since he had an arrogant air about him he would want the shortest version and they would be able to leave rather quickly. When they arrived not to their surprise, instead of a warehouse or a large out of the way building like practically all the other clans had, he of course had a mansion.
"This guy…" Lyon huffed. Echizen had informed everyone about his so called relationship with Atobe and about how he thought he was a god and he was more conceited than himself and it provided a major overview about what they could expect but from the recent encounter at the tennis court they thought that Echizen had blown it a little out of proportion. As they approached the doors, Tanaka's phone rang.
"It's Yukio." He stared at it. "Go ahead. I'll be in after we're done." Lyon sweat dropped. He didn't want to talk to Atobe alone. Nonetheless he banged on the door and was met with a member who proceeded to ask him all sorts of questions before letting them in. Tanaka stifled a laugh and silently thanked Yukio for the call. "Moshi moshi?"
"Tanaka." There was something about hi tone he didn't like. "Where are you two right now?"
"We just arrived at Atobe's. Lyon is trying to get us in now. Is something wrong?" The line was silent for a second. "Yukio?"
"We've run into- problems."
"Problems with what?" By this time Atobe himself was at the door with an annoyed look. "Yukio what's wrong?"
"Tanaka come on." Lyon called to him as he walked into the mansion. He followed Lyon inside and barely registered Atobe's offended tone seeing as he was ignored.
"Taichou's team was captured." Tanaka stopped walking. "And Nanjiro-sama is dead." Tanaka almost dropped the phone from shock. "Romeo just informed everyone. Since you're with Atobe could you tell him? We're going to call the other the others to inform them and we will speak more tomorrow; we're going to attack. Try to get back here as quick as you can; we have a lot to discuss."
"Yeah, alright." Tanaka shut the phone and shoved it in his pocket then scoffed. How could some low lives manage to kidnap a tennis team and kill Nanjiro?
"What's the hold up?" Atobe asked in an aggravated tone. Lyon also gave him a questioned look.
He crossed his arms and frowned. "Nanjiro-sama is dead." The questioning looks on the other's faces turned to ones of shock and confusion. "Taichou's team was also captured. We're leading an assault tomorrow."
"We have much to discuss." Atobe led the both of them into a separate room and told his members not to disturb them.
The next day was exactly how it was in the movies; gloomy, cold, and a chance of rain. Echizen thought it was kind of ironic because he told Momo that the life he led wasn't like in the movies but there it was; a cliché by nature or as Josiah said 'a perfect day to die'. He sat outside while everyone inside was getting ready. He side was killing him and Ryoga even said he should stay there while everyone else did everything. Of course he wasn't going to stay put. It was something he needed to do.
The previous night he had excused himself from planning and told everyone he was going to try and get a good night's rest like everyone should have but in reality he had a few calls to make. Needless to say Atobe wasn't too happy to have his so called beauty sleep interrupted and the fact that Echizen had his personal number but what he needed to say was important. He also called Riku and Kazu and explained his strategy to them but needless to say they were against it but through his stubbornness Echizen was able to get them to agree with it.
He didn't tell his own members his plan seeing as they would most certainly make him stay at the hideout. He didn't even tell the other leaders to keep it a secret from them but he made it very clear what he needed and how to explain it to their clan members and how to set everything up. He knew it wasn't a good idea per say but it was the only way he could think of ending the war that was most certainly going to continue if he didn't.
A perfect day to die. That was everything he didn't want; no more bloodshed, no more injuries, and for the life of him, no more death. He lost his mother and now his father. The thought of losing Ryoga or his teammates terrified him. He didn't know if he would be able to handle the deaths of his brother and closest friends or anyone in the clan for that matter. They were all his family and he would be damned if he saw them come to harm again.
A sigh escaped his lips; not one of stress or fatigue but that of determination. He was going to see it through to the end. He stretched his arms and ventured back inside to see just about all his clan members waiting for him with determined smirks and frowns alike. He couldn't help but smile, a real, genuine smile despite everything that had happened and what they were going into. He was glad he was leader of this clan.
"Minna." He picked up Karupin who had been roaming around and addressed everyone. "First off I want to thank all of you for doing this for me. It means a great deal to me." A series of Anything for you Taichou and Of course we'd do this for you was heard throughout the group. "The people we are attempting to save also mean a great deal to me as do all of you." Not 'attempting' Taichou. We will get them back. "I don't want to see any of you injured but casualties are inevitable in this line of work. I want everyone to use their heads while we're out there."
"As you all know, we're going to go to the Eagle's main headquarters to get back my teammates. The plan is simple: along with the Beavers, Lemurs, and Tanuki, we will secure a perimeter around the building. Our combined members will incapacitate the Eagles. I don't want there to be blood shed if you can help it but if in the case you need to, don't go for the kill; just something that will make them unable to perform. Once we've gotten our perimeter we'll venture inside and secure the building. All the members shall the break off and search for my teammates. All the groups will also be led by one of your upper clansmen being Ryoga, Lyon, Tanaka, Romeo, Yukio, and Josiah who will be able to communicate to each other via ear pieces along with the upper clansmen of the other clans as well."
"Where will you be in all of this Leader?" A member cried out.
"I will be dealing with Jinzhou." There it was, short and sweet and leaving no room for further questions. "If you find my teammates you are to notify everyone and head outside. You are also to take all of the Eagle's clan members with you, injured or not. We will not stoop to their level of killing simply because their views are different from our own. Try to keep the casualties to a minimum and watch each other's backs. It's time to show the Eagles how dangerous Ravens can be." A lurid cheer went through the group and echoed in the room. Everyone started to file out though the garage door and into the street.
"Some inspirational speech." Ryoga teased. "I don't think I've ever heard you say so much at one time."
"You on the other hand talk too much." Echizen teased back. He went into his room and placed Karupin inside and looked in a bag that was brought from his house and pulled out a pistol. It was a rather simple looking hand gun but it was powerful beyond belief to the point of if he held it wrong it could break his wrist. He tucked it away and went out of the room to join everyone in the street.
"Come back to us Taichou!"
"And bring your friends with you!" The few members that were going to remain at the base to watch it shouted at him.
"You can count on it." Echizen yelled back. He was one of the last ones out and the site before him left him awestruck; his group- his family all in front of him with cheeky smiles and determined grins. "Let's go get them."
Atobe's foot kept tapping impatiently as he and the other two leaders waited for Echizen's arrival. "Honestly, this is his team we're doing this for. Doesn't he at least have the decency to show up at the appointed time?"
"A calm composer would be best in this situation Atobe-san." Riku said. "Or did you forget that he is a young boy whose father was murdered in cold blood last night? Can you blame him for being a little bit late?"
Atobe scoffed. Of course he didn't forget. He wasn't actually angry at Echizen, just antsy about everything. There were three major clans already waiting nearby ready to make an assault. The size of the group could give them away in a second and he didn't want all the planning they did go to waste. If he had it his way they would've stormed it already and been done with it. The Eagles had also caused problems for each of them too.
"Do you think it was the right plan?" Kazu said suddenly. "Shouldn't we have decided on something else?"
"Of course we should have." Riku answered. "I still don't know Echizen-san that well. I trust him with this but we should've come up with something less hazardous."
"You can't get that gaki to change his mind for anything." Atobe cut in. "Especially something that involves the things he cares about."
"Damn that bastard for putting him through something like this again." Kazu spit out. "When I get my hands on him-"
"When? Do you really think he would have set all of this up so you could handle it? I know what the gaki has planned and it wasn't so you could get your hands on him." They all knew what Echizen was planning and didn't understand how his members could let him go through with it. "Where is he already?"
As if on cue their group was seen walking up the street. "And here I thought you were supposed to be the flashy one Atobe-san." Riku joked.
Atobe grinned. "No one can be flashier than Ore-sama."
As they came into view of the others Echizen couldn't help but laugh a bit. "It's a bit cliché isn't it?"
"What is?" Ryoga asked.
"All of this right now. Momo-sempai said this life was like the movies and I denied it but right now, the speech I gave, how we got here, what we're about to do; it exactly like the movies."
Ryoga grinned. "It is, isn't it?"
The smile on Echizen's face didn't fade as they got closer but seemed to grow. He could only imagine how they looked right now; a clan leader with the sub leaders leading basically the entire clan to battle. He thought it was ridiculous but he was proud and he could only imagine how annoyed Atobe was seeing that he was supposed to be the center of everything.
"Flashy enough entrance for you?" Riku grinned at him.
Echizen saw Atobe scoff. "If it annoyed the monkey king then it was fine." Atobe gave him an unamused glare. "Is everything ready?"
"We've been ready and yet you take your time like always." Atobe complained.
"We're ready to go on your signal." Kazu said.
Echizen took in the sight in front of them; the number of people was astounding and could easily fill a small stadium. The members from the clans seem to get along with everyone and had begun mixing and forming into the groups that they were assigned. He felt as he could trust these people with his life. "I want to thank you all for doing this for me. I'll never be able to repay you."
"You won't need to." Riku said. "We will always offer our support."
"What are you saying? You're practically family." Kazu offered a smile.
"Speak for yourself." Atobe mocked. "Gaki I'm expecting a proper match after this with no interruptions. We have a score to settle about me taking over for you."
Echizen smirked in response. "Let's end this."
The regulars were spaced out in the room. The previous day after Momo had been taken for questioning; one by one they all got taken for a few hours at a time. When it was finally over and they were returned to the room they noticed Momo still wasn't with them. After a bit longer the door opened and Momo was shoved in along with something to eat. No one touched the food because they were busy fussing over Momo; busted lip, swollen cheek, black eye forming. When asked about why he was injured when no one else had so much as a scratch, he said they didn't like the answers he gave; Echizen coming to get them, the clan going to be destroyed, and several other snarky answers that would piss them off.
They weren't bothered after that except to bring them water. They didn't know what to expect. It seemed like they were asked everything the previous day though he said something about a week. How would everyone not notice them being missing for a week? Bei never explained what he did to take care of everything at the school and quite frankly they didn't know if they wanted to know.
When the door opened for the first time that day they all jumped. The person that came in didn't look any older than they did and they couldn't fathom how they could get their life caught up in this. They still didn't understand how Echizen became a part of it. The guy looked at everyone then pointed to Kaidou and told him to follow. Kaidou scoffed but followed nonetheless. He was led up stairs into a separate room.
"Kaidou-kun, you know why you're hear right?" The man asked.
"How could I if you never actually told us?" Kaidou bit back. "All you do is ask stupid questions you probably already know the answers too."
The man scratched his head. "You saw your friend right? Unless you want to look like him you should stop being a smart ass and answer our questions." Kaidou frowned. One question was asked and he answered it and he was getting yelled at for doing what he was told. "Do you know why Bei-sama gave that kid one week to hand over his clan? Seven people, seven days." He pulled out a pistol. "Personally I think Bei-sama is being a little too rash with this but it's the best way to get things done."
Kaidou tensed. What did that mean; seven people seven days? Were they planning on killing one of the each day until Echizen finally gave in and turned the clan over?
"Think about how devastated he'll be when he finds out that not only was his father murdered because of him but also his teammates were picked off one by one." His eyes widened. Echizen's father was… these people were demented. The man raised the gun to Kaidou's head. "Nothing personal."
That was it. That was how he was going to die, sitting in an interrogation room with a bullet wound to the head. Wouldn't that be an interesting story to tell his family? Time seemed to move slowly. Fear took over. It took him a few seconds to realize that the door flew open and two of them were no longer alone in the room. Two people bolted in and tackled the man with the gun and another standing in the doorway talking to him.
"Talk about perfect time. Are you alright Kaidou-kun?" Lyon asked as he stepped in the room. Kaidou silently nodded. "Some dramatic entrance. Where are the others?"
"T-They're downstairs somewhere." He stuttered. "A single room at the end of a hall."
"Get him out of here." Lyon ordered to another member. "We've located Kaidou-kun. The others are being held in the basement. Who's closest right now?" He spoke into the earpiece.
"We're just about there." Yukio voiced back. "Along with Tanaka's group we can probably find them."
"How's everything going for you Bocchan?"
"It's not every day we get to attack an enemy base." Echizen starkly replied. "But all things considered I'll be glad once this is all over; might finally be able to walk down the street without having to look over your shoulder every few minutes. Be sure to tell me when you find them and once you do I want everyone out of the building, no exception."
"What about you Chibisuke?" Ryoga's voice cut over the transmission. "Surely you're still going to be inside with that Bei bastard aren't you?"
"I'm going to take care of this so it'll be safe for everyone else. Just be sure to get everyone out of the building."
"Ryoma." Romeo called to him. "This guy says he knows where Jinzhou is." He was holding a rival clan member.
Echizen went over to them. "Where is he?" This person was just a kid. Maybe a year or two older than him. He looked too scrappy to be involved with the mafia and the fact that he was basically crying when Echizen talked to him helped prove his point.
"I-I'm sorry. I didn't know this would happen. I t-thought it would just be like a club at school. I-I… please don't kill me."
"Who said anything about killing?" Echizen placed his hand on the guy's head. "If you wanted a school club then you should be in school. We're not going to hurt you but I need you to tell me; where is Bei Jinzhou?"
"H-He's on the top floor. He's usually the only one who goes up there."
Echizen nodded. "Take him outside and make sure everyone else is out too."
"Ryoma are you sure you want to meet him alone?"
"No I don't want to but I'm not going to let anyone die because of a problem I have." Echizen gave Romeo a small smile. "I'll be fine. Just make sure everyone is out and taken care of."
Romeo reluctantly nodded as he and the members of his group took the guy and headed back the way they came and Echizen started heading the opposite direction towards the stairs to meet Bei. "Ryoma- be sure to come back to us."
Echizen nodded and kept walking. He made it to the door that had stairs leading up and found it awfully eerie with how silent it was; no yelling from other rooms, crashing of things being knocked over, he wasn't even sure he heard the door shut behind him as he made his way up. He practically jumped when the earpiece went on and told everyone that the regulars were safe and being escorted from the building.
He sighed in relief. All he had to do was wait until he got the all clear that everyone was out of the building and he could deal with Bei. When he got to the next level ti was almost like he was in a whole other building. It was nothing like it was downstairs; there were holes in the walls and ceiling, debris all over the floor, hell it looked like if he stepped in the wrong place the floor would collapse. The thing that caught his eye was the reason he went up there; Bei was leaning against a wall looking completely uninterested that Echizen was there.
"Echizen Ryoma." His voice echoed around the broken room. "How nice of you to come personally. I know you can't be at your top performance unless you've some sort of magic that allowed that wound in your side to heal basically overnight. I can say that I wished we could be civil about all of this and chat like old friends."
"You be civil? You killed my father and kidnapped my friends. What about that is civil?" Echizen's tone was calm but he was fuming.
"I will admit; killing your father wasn't in my plans, a spur of the moment type of things." Bei turned to face him. "Wouldn't you like to see him again? Your mother too? I can make it happen. Just one little pull of the trigger and you can be with them forever."
"You obviously don't know my family as much as you think. If you think I'd want to stay with them forever you're mistaken."
"There you go again with your smug attitude. You don't realize what kind of position you're in right now do you?"
Echizen scoffed. "Tch. I'm standing so I guess it would make it a vertical position right? Maybe you should go back to school."
Bei frowned and quickly pulled out a pistol and shot at Echizen, bullet grazing his neck. "Shut up. How can you possibly be the leader of one of if not the most powerful group in Japan? You're just some dumb kid. You have no idea what you're doing. You haven't even finished school and you act all high and mighty just because your able boss people around."
Echizen pulled out his own gun. "You're right though, I am just a stupid kid who hasn't finished school, I don't have any idea what I'm doing but the difference between me and you is you're the one who bosses people around. The fact that I'm a child gives me reason to not understand what I'm doing or how this world works and that's why I ask for help on things. I don't act high and mighty because I can boss people around; I do it because I have to. They all look up to me. I didn't choose this life, I never wanted something like this and I would gladly give anything to return to what it used to be like but there is no way I am ever turning over this clan to some bastard like you. I will not let any of my comrades be influenced by you."
"There's that thing again, that nauseating feeling of trying to be heroic. You care for your members? You want them to have a good life and try to keep them out of trouble. Why did you let them join in the first place? Bringing them into your world where they could be killed at any second by a rival member. You're contradicting yourself kid. You say they're not expendable but you hold their lives in your hands and with one tiny mishap they could die and it would be your fault. What are you willing to sacrifice to get what you need?" He took a step towards him.
"Chibisuke." Ryoga's voice boomed in his earpiece. "Everyone's out and accounted for. The injured are currently being treated and Eagle clan members are being questioned. Your friends are alright. Hurry up and get out here so we can go home."
Echizen smirked. "Alright." He took the earpiece out and let it drop to the floor. He also unloaded his gun and let it drop to. "What am I willing to sacrifice to get what I need?" He pulled a small, black rectangular box out of his back pocket. "I would give my life to save my comrades and when it comes to it, that's just what I'll do." He flipped open the top to reveal a button. Bei reacted on instinct. He knew what that was and quickly pointed his gun at Echizen once more and fired. The bullet hit him in the opposite shoulder as the first gunshot wound but Echizen held onto the box. "If I have to go down, you're going to come with me." His smirked widened and he pressed the button.
"He's sure taking his time isn't he?" Kazu said as he and the other leaders were doing a head count of all their clan members.
"It's obvious he doesn't want anyone else to get hurt." Riku answered. "Can you blame him for being careful?"
"This was a stupid plan." Atobe ridiculed. "We should've never agreed to go through with it. Why did we agree to do this for him?"
"Atobe-san, are you saying that we shouldn't have come here to rescue his friends and that we in fact should have just left them here to be killed off for all we know?" Josiah asked in a snarky tone. "According to Kaidou-kun they were planning to kill a member each day they were there. I mean I know you're rival schools and all but I never thought-"
"That's not what I meant."
"Is everyone accounted for?" Ryoga came walking towards them. Reluctantly the three of them nodded. "Alright then." He went for his earpiece. "Chibisuke everyone's out and accounted for. The injured are currently being treated and Eagle clan members are being questioned. Your friends are alright. Hurry up and get out here so we can go home." The three of them stared in shock. "What is it?"
"He didn't tell you did he?" Riku asked in a wretched tone knowing what the answer was.
"Tell me what?" Ryoga's tone was one of fear and confusion.
Everything after that moment seemed to happen in slow motion. There were several loud booms and before anyone could figure out what was going on, the building started to collapse. Debris and dust went flying everywhere and most of the members were knocked to the ground from the force of the impact. After a few minutes of letting the dust settle, the building in front of them was nothing more than a pile of rubble. Members from all the clans, including the Eagles were helping each other up.
Ryoga stood wide eyed. "Why did you keep this a secret?" He turned to the other three. "Why the fuck didn't you tell us?!"
The three of them looked away, faces clearly showing signs of guilt. "We thought he would've told you."
"Do you honestly think we would be alright with this? Do you really think we would've let this happen if we knew about it?" Ryoga's voice was cracking at how loud he was yelling. "Do you really think- do you-" His rage filled voice trailed off as tears threatened to fall. He turned from scolding the three men in front of him and ran to the now destroyed building and started digging.
The regulars got the message and quickly joined Ryoga in the search as did their clan members as well. He couldn't be dead. There was no way Echizen could die. He was stupidly lucky whether it be in tennis or getting shot multiple times. But this was also something he couldn't escape from; it wasn't a gunshot or a tennis match. He was buried under a building. Maybe this was just the time his luck ran out.
"Don't do this to me." Ryoga kept muttering to himself. "Chibisuke don't do this to me. You're my only little brother. I need you to be alright. You're going to be fine."
"Ryoga-sama!" A clan member called to him. He went running, almost tripping on the uneven ground. Several other clan members were lifting a large slab of concrete and as Ryoga ducked down to peer underneath he saw Echizen's body. He quickly pulled him out as the members left the slab fall back down creating another small cloud of dust. No one said anything. They all watched quietly as Ryoga cradled the bloody and broken body of their leader. Tears started to fall from several people. No one could have survived that, not even him. Ryoga clutched his brother head in his arms and cried into his hair.
"I-If I had known-" Ryoga looked up. No way. There was no way. "I had a c-clan full of crybabies-" He looked down to see a trademark smirk. "I would have i-invested in a baby s-sitter." Clan members were laughing and crying and even scolding Echizen more scaring them so much.
Ryoga let out a sorrowful laugh. "You have more lives than that stupid cat of yours."
Echizen turned his head ever so slightly to see the regulars crying and sobbing among the members of everyone's clans and sighed in relief. "When threatened by a predator with a family to look after, a raven will go thought hell and back to make sure it's home and family stays safe." With help from Ryoga he managed to stand. "Even if it gets injured on the way." Ryoga smiled and wiped his tears away. "As long as I'm leader, The Raven's will never fall."
The cheer that erupted from everyone was enormous. So loud that if they had done it in the building it probably would've fallen without the help of the explosives. Echizen smiled as his teammates and clan members all surrounded him. He was overjoyed that everything was over and was looking forward to furthering his life as the leader of The Velvet Ravens.
God. That was probably the stupidest ending I've ever written. I'm so sorry you had to read that. I'm a horrible person.
Well there it is. Nice long end chapter like always. I was debating cutting it up into two separate ones but I thought that if I do then I'll probably never write the second part of it and you'd all be waiting forever just like you did for this one.
Who saw that coming? Really? Blow up the enemy base? I'm very uncreative when it comes to these types of things. Yeah Bei is dead probably, Echizen panned to die too but then he's like a cat so he lives and blah blah blah. Use your imagination. And I know that the regulars weren't in the story that much. I kinda got caught up with everyone else. Stop putting OCs everywhere. Sorry.
Please forgive spelling and grammar and latenesss and stupidness and corniness and horribleness and stupid clichés and lateness and overall badness of the end of it.
I hope you guys enjoyed it! See ya next time!
