ah, well, this is extremely late, and i'm really sorry! my life totally got busier, so i don't have much time! but i'm on spring break, well for the next couple days anyway, so i was crunching away, typing another chapter! i don't quite know when i'll get the chance to do another chapter, but this story is almost done anyway, so i'll try to be quick with the next few! but that doesn't seem likely, until summer vacation...but if you'll all be patient until then, i should have the story finished by june! (if i'm lucky anyway...haha. perhaps july at the rate i'm going)
thanks for all the wonderful reviews and i'll try my hardest to get another chapter up within a month so i'm not keeping everyone waiting! thanks for being patient minna san!
Chapter seven
Haseo sighed again. He was currently waiting for Momoshiro to ask his one question. Unfortunately for Haseo, he stupidly agreed to answer one question from everyone.
"Okay!" Momo smirked. "I've got the perfect question! How do you and Rachel know each other?"
"Oh, that's a good question, Momo chan!" Kikumaru smiled, looking away from Inui who he was playing rock paper scissors with to see who asks the second questions. So far, it'd been a series of ties.
"What do you mean by 'how'?" Haseo asked.
"Well, like, when'd you meet, where, that sort of stuff." Momoshiro explained.
"Oh." Haseo said. "That's easy. We met when we were super little. We lived down the street from each other, so we practically grew up together."
"Yes!" Kikumaru exclaimed. "I get the next question!" Inui glared down at his defeated paper. "Where did you and Rachel grow up? Like, what country, city?"
"Mac Anu." Haseo answered in a monotone voice.
"Ooh, isn't that in Sekai?" Kikumaru said. "Isn't Mac Anu one of the five cities that make up the whole country? It's the largest, isn't it?"
"That's three more questions that I don't have to answer." Haseo said in a spiteful tone.
"Yes, to all of your questions." Inui said, satisfied at being next to ask a question. "My turn. What kind of relationship do you and Rachel have?"
"Strictly friends." Haseo answered quickly. "Strictly friends."
Fuji chuckled. "Perhaps a bit more than 'strictly friends', Haseo?" he smirked.
"Are you going to count that as your question?" Haseo shot back with malice.
Fuji sighed. "No, but I was hoping you wouldn't notice that."
Haseo sighed again. Why was it he agreed to this again? He wasn't sure anymore. He probably just thought it'd all go away faster. But this was getting more irritating by the second (not to mention embarrassing. Why would they ask a stupid question like that?).
"So who's next?" Haseo sighed. "No one chose to play for the fourth question." he pointed out.
"I'll go." Fuji smiled. "Unless anyone else wants to."
Fuji looked to Tezuka, who nodded for him to continue on. Fuji's gaze wandered to Kawamura, who only shook his head violently, as if to say no. Then Fuji went on to Oishi, who gave him a look that said to ask on.
"Well then. It appears I'm unopposed." Fuji smiled, glancing back to Haseo. "As for my question," A deliberate pause. "is there anyone in your life you would consider your significant other?" Another deliberate pause, as Haseo flinched. Fuji smirked. "In short, a lover?"
Haseo immediately went red at the question. "T-too personal!" he stuttered out. "Ask something else."
"I'll take that as a yes." Fuji smiled. "I could always ask who for my second question." the tensai smirked. "but I think I'm alright for the time being. I'll still count that as my question."
"How nice of you." Haseo growled out. He did not like this turn of events. "Who's next?" Haseo said without much emotion in his voice.
Haseo looked to Kawamura, the newest member of the group. He wondered what kind of question he would ask, since he had just joined the merry crew. Kawamura, sensing that he was under the spotlight for the moment, shook his head no, and muttered out something along the lines of 'I won't ask anything'. Haseo didn't mind. It was one less question he had to answer.
Haseo's gaze then wandered to Oishi. The man blushed under his gaze, looked away, and defiantly said "I don't feel right asking anything.", much to his partner's disappointment.
"But Oishi!!" Kikumaru nearly whined. But then, the redhead smirked, trying to find the loophole around Oishi's not asking a question. "Do I--" But he was abruptly interrupted.
"NO." Haseo said flatly. "It's one question for each person. If he doesn't want to ask me anything, then that's his choice."
Fuji sighed, seeing Kikumaru's pout. "He has a point, Eiji."
Kikumaru pouted in Fuji's direction. Oishi put a hand on his partner's shoulder and shook his head when Kikumaru looked at him. The redhead sighed, but didn't push the matter any further.
Deciding that the issue was dealt with, Haseo turned his attention to Tezuka. The two stared at each other for a few moments before one finally talked.
"You have anything to ask?" Haseo said.
Tezuka continued to stare at Haseo, knowing that everyone's eyes were on them. "Yes." he answered, to everyone's surprise. "Do you know Atobe, on a personal level?"
Haseo cocked an eyebrow at the randomness of the question. But he nonetheless considered the question. "I guess you could say that. I mean, not too personal but eh." Haseo shrugged. "Close enough."
Everyone stared at Haseo, shocked at how easy he answered the question.
"But what makes you ask that?" Haseo asked back, his voice calm without the annoyed sound to it. "I mean, compared to the previous questions, it's kind of random."
"Aa." Tezuka said, trying to think of a way to explain it. "Earlier you said something about Atobe loving these types of things to make decisions."
Fuji chuckled. "That is true. We'd have to play the game whenever we had something to decide. It was amusing, for the most part." Fuji explained as Haseo listened intently.
Fuji and Haseo's eyes locked for a few moments, while Fuji's smile turned into a smirk and Haseo grew very afraid of it.
"So, Haseo." Fuji started. "Is this significant other of yours Atobe?"
"What?" Haseo nearly choked, as Kikumaru echoed the word.
"Ew, you and Atobe!" Kikumaru laughed.
Tezuka scowled, not believing the turn of events. That wasn't what he was implying. Oishi was trying to get Kikumaru to stop laughing, while Kawamura took up to asking Fuji who Atobe was. Inui was scribbling notes in his notebook (actually, Tezuka was certain he hadn't stopped since the rock paper scissors incident) as Kaido and Momoshiro struck up a fight over nothing.
"Really?" a familiar voice called through the exasperating mess. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to find Rachel in the middle of their path, blocking their way. Haseo blushed the moment he noticed her. "Seo chan, since when have you been cheating on--"
The statement was never finished, as Haseo immediately placed both his hands over Rachel's mouth.
"Don't say anything else that will get them going." he said, sounding completely exhausted.
"Haha, I was only joking." she smiled. "I wouldn't have finished the sentence anyway."
"Rachel." Tezuka said, gaining the mage's attention.
"Why are you here?" Inui finished the thought.
Rachel's smile widened. "I have business in Rikkai." she explained. "So I thought I'd catch up with all of you until you get there!"
Tezuka and Fuji looked at each other, as if they had forgotten that's where they were headed. They then looked up at the sky and the sun's position.
"We should hurry." Tezuka sighed. They'd wasted too much time asking Haseo questions. The day had been wasted away.
"We won't get to Rikkai before dark at this rate." Fuji sighed. "I'd rather not spend another night on the roadside."
It was near dark and the smell of twilight was in the air as the group reached Rikkai. Rachel yawned as they walked through a bustling crowd, as if she dreaded what she needed to do here.
Fuji eyed her cautiously. He wondered why she was here now, since the last time she showed up, Tezuka had nearly lost himself. She always seemed to show up right before something horrible happened, during this journey and before. The knight wondered if something bad would happen here too.
Suddenly, Rachel stopped, turned on her heel, and smiled at the group. "Saa, I'll leave you all here then."
"That sure was fast." Haseo scoffed, earning himself a glare from Rachel.
"Why so soon Rachel?" Oishi asked.
"Ah, I have to be in the right place at the right time or else I'll miss him." Rachel explained, dropping her glare to smile at Oishi. "I have the best contacts in the world, but they're very fickle about where and when they'll meet someone." she laughed.
Haseo stared at Rachel much like Fuji had been just a few moments before. But he quickly scoffed, turned his head, paying attention to something else he found much more interesting than Rachel's ramblings.
"Will we catch up with you later then?" Inui asked. "Before you leave."
Rachel thought for a moment. "I guess." she said. "You're all going to the inn now, right?" she asked. Tezuka nodded, as well as Fuji and Oishi. She smiled again. "Okay. I'll come by when I'm done."
Rachel confirmed the plans and then walked off.
"Nya, she's so mysterious." Kikumaru whined.
"Who is she?" Kawamura asked, and everyone turned to stare at him. "Wh-what?" he asked, and everyone turned away. They had forgotten he wasn't from Seigaku. He wouldn't know who Rachel was.
"She's the local mage, in Seigaku." Fuji chuckled. "She's a bit...whimsical. No one can really know what she's thinking or what she's going to do next."
"Oh." Kawamura said.
"I wonder who she's meeting." Inui mumbled. "Perhaps I should follow her."
"Nya!" Kikumaru exclaimed, hearing Inui. "Let's, let's!"
"Eiji!" Oishi reprimanded.
Fuji chuckled. "Only if you want to anger her." he said, and the other two completely pushed the stalking thoughts out of their minds.
"Let's head to the inn." Tezuka said, gaining everyone's attention.
Fuji nodded. "Let's."
"You know, if we keep this up, it'll give off unwanted impressions on the others." Haseo smirked, knowing full well that the statement was true as well as that the prince didn't care.
"That's fine." Tezuka replied, just as Haseo thought he would. "They can think what they want."
Currently, the two were walking down the streets of Rikkai alone. They had left almost immediately after they booked their rooms at the inn. The two hadn't said anything much, only saying enough to decide rooms and roommates. Upon leaving, Haseo could feel Fuji's stare on him.
"Saa, since you've said it, I've been uneasy around Fuji." Haseo sighed, remembering the first glare he received at Yamabuki.
Tezuka chuckled. "It can't be helped, I suppose." he said. "You're just going to have to get over it."
"Che. Easier said than done, I'm sure." Haseo mumbled. Haseo turned to smirk at Tezuka. "So..." His eyes widened as he noticed something off in the distance, passed Tezuka and in the crowd of Rikkai citizens. He paused, losing his smirk and causing Tezuka to give him a questioning glance. He looked back to Tezuka, trying to quickly think of something to say. "I'll...I'll be right back." he said, running off into the crowd.
"W-wait!" Tezuka yelled, extending a hand after Haseo as if it were going to stop him. Tezuka stood there for a few moments, trying to figure out what it was Haseo was after before finally giving chase to the white haired boy.
Haseo ran as if his life depended on it. He bumped into people as they ran, barely hearing their reprimands as he ran passed. He squeezed through couples, uncaring for their glares and yells. He ran passed and didn't care who he hit or who he bumped into, because he had to catch up.
He turned a corner into a barren alleyway. There was nothing other than worn-out boxes and week-old trash. He looked straight down the alleyway and he saw a figure walking the length of the alleyway. He started to run faster than before in order to catch him.
"Ovan!"
The figure stopped and turned to look behind him. There was a smile plastered on his face as Haseo ran faster to catch him.
"It's been awhile, Haseo."
Tezuka sighed, looking around the hundreds of faces for Haseo's. He couldn't believe that he would just run off like that. Whatever it was he saw, it must have been important. At least, Tezuka hoped it was.
He looked around again and jumped when a hand was placed on his shoulder.
"Lose something?"
"Fuji." Tezuka breathed. "Don't scare me like that."
Fuji chuckled. "It's not like I meant to." the knight smirked. "But really, did you lose something? You seem lost here."
Tezuka looked around once more. "I was just with Haseo, but he ran off suddenly. He seemed a little spooked."
"Haseo?" Fuji frowned. "He ran past here not too long ago. He seemed to be in a real hurry."
"I'm just wondering what it was he saw."
Fuji smiled. Tezuka's protective side was taking over again. It happened every now and then, without Tezuka actually realizing it. Unbeknownst to himself, he was actually very sentimental.
Fuji pointed off towards an alley. "He ran that way, I think. Do you want to go look for him?"
Tezuka stared at the alley for a few moments when a thought hit him. Why would he worry so for someone he just met? Haseo would probably think it was strange, and he probably wasn't in any trouble or danger to begin with. But that didn't really matter to Tezuka.
He turned to Fuji and nodded. "Ah, let's go."
Rachel sat at a table in the bar. She huffed, waiting for her contact. He was usually very reliable with meetings, but he was late today. She could only think of one reason why.
She looked around, not seeing him or anyone else she knew. Then again, she didn't really expect to. If her suspicions were correct, then her contact might not show up at all.
She sighed this time, wondering why he would call her out in the first place.
Just as Rachel was diving deep into her thoughts, a man stood next to her table. "This seat taken?" he chuckled, moving to sit down.
"Did you run into him?" Rachel asked immediately.
The man chuckled again. "Always quick to the point." he said.
"You're avoiding the question." she scowled. "And you're such a hard person to deal with, I have to be. If I messed around with you, we'd get nowhere. Well, I'd get nowhere."
The man chuckled again, smiling at her. "Well, then. Let's get straight to the point. I don't have much time to spend here."
Haseo sighed, standing alone in the alleyway. He glared at the ground, with thousands of questions racing through his mind, each one wanting an answer.
"I don't understand." he whispered, thinking that maybe Ovan could still hear him. "I don't understand what you're saying, Ovan!"
His voice echoed in the alley. He looked about him, glaring as he did so, trying to see if he could find Ovan. He couldn't and he knew that he wouldn't.
Ovan had left, and Haseo was positive that he wasn't coming back anytime soon.
He jumped and turned around when a hand was placed on his shoulder. He hoped it was Ovan, but found Fuji standing behind him, with a hand on his shoulder.
"Something wrong?" Fuji asked. "You seem jumpy."
Haseo turned from him and Tezuka, who he noticed was standing close by. "It's nothing." he replied.
"Then why did you run off?" Tezuka asked.
Haseo turned to look at him. "A case of mistaken identity."
Fuji and Tezuka exchanged glances that Haseo couldn't see. They both knew that wasn't the case, despite the fact they hardly knew Haseo to begin with.
Haseo started to walk off as the two had a silent conversation with each other. Both dropped their stares to look at Haseo, who seemed to sense their gazes upon him.
"I'll...see you at the inn."
"I left everyone else at the bar." Fuji explained to Tezuka. "If you want company, they should all still be there."
Tezuka nodded. "Where are you going?"
The two stood at a corner. Fuji had just opted to leave Tezuka's company, and Tezuka was unsure of what he should do. There were plenty of options, but the one he most wanted he could do. There was no telling where Haseo could have gone.
Fuji smiled. "Just somewhere quiet. I'll meet you back at the inn later on."
The two said their quick goodbyes and headed their separate ways. It wouldn't be long before they saw each other again anyway.
Tezuka walked down the street, heading for the bar. It was half a block from the inn, so he was certain that if he didn't want company, he could just go to the inn. Besides, he was surprised that Fuji opted to leave everyone at the bar. Someone was bound to get drunk.
He sighed, thinking of all the possibilities as he entered the building. It wasn't that busy, and he could clearly see where everyone was, seeing as they chose the table close to the front door. But that wasn't what caught his attention.
It was Rachel; she was sitting at a table near the back with another man. Rachel had her back to him, but Tezuka could recognize the back of head anywhere. The man, though, he didn't recognize.
Fuji smiled and closed his eyes. He was glad that the outskirts of the forest met the outskirts of the town. It was nice here. Fresh air, green grass, nature. He usually didn't get a chance to just come outside and sit and relax. He was usually in the castle, waiting for something to happen.
He heard the snapping of a twig and his eyes shot open and he glared in the general direction of the sound. He placed a hand on the hilt of his sword, preparing himself for anything that could pop out.
A young man rushed out, heavily panting. He bumped into Fuji, who served as a blockade to stop him. The young man looked up, a blank look in his eyes but a scowl on his face. He turned around as two men walked out into the clearing, both armed with swords.
Fuji glared at the two, stepping in front of the young man. He kept his hand gripped tightly around the hilt of his sword, waiting for the other two to make the first move.
Tezuka slowly walked up to Rachel's table, ignoring whatever question Oishi had directed at him. As he got closer to the table, he could tell that whatever was being discussed, there was a difference of opinion. He could tell from Rachel's tone.
"That's it?" she asked as he approached.
He felt that he was intruding in a place he shouldn't, crossing a line that shouldn't be crossed. "Rachel?" he asked, standing a mere foot away.
Rachel jumped and turned to look at him, to his surprise. He'd never even seen her this worked up, let alone her being surprised by him.
"Tezuka." she whispered, then turned back to the man who stood.
It was now that Tezuka took in his appearance. He was older than him, that he was sure of. He had a deep blue hair color and wore an all white outfit. He was slender, extremely so. And Tezuka couldn't get over the fact he was wearing orange, circular sunglasses. They just seemed so odd and out of place.
"Ah, I've said what I've needed to, so I'll take my leave." the man said, much to Tezuka's surprise, although he wasn't sure why it surprised him.
"You still never answered my question." Rachel said, a scowl on her face, as the man walked passed her and Tezuka.
The man paused for a moment, eyeing her, before smiling. "Of course. We went straight to the point, remember?" he chuckled. "Besides, you already know the answer to that." he added, walking off towards the door.
"Ovan!" Rachel yelled, gaining his attention one last time. "I'm not going to sugar coat anything. I'm not going to lie."
"I didn't expect you to. It's fine."
Tezuka watched as Rachel huffed. "I don't understand you sometimes."
"Aren't you supposed to understand everything, So chan?" the man chuckled, officially leaving the building and his mark on Rachel.
Tezuka's eyes widened as he noticed Rachel's reaction to the sentence. By now, the rest of their party, excluding Haseo and Fuji, were standing by Tezuka, all watching Rachel.
Fuji sidestepped the taller man's attack, bringing his own sword down to take a slice at him. The blade collided with dirt. He had missed.
Fuji watched his assailants. The blue haired one wearing the glasses, the one he had just missed a few seconds before, seemed to be the one in control. He seemed to have a strategy going on in his head and his companion, the red headed and much shorter one, only followed his lead.
All he needed was to get one, and the other would practically be done. There was just one slight problem with that. The red head was fast and flexible. While Fuji was sparing with the taller one, the redhead could and would jump over the two of them to get behind Fuji for a quick attack. Luckily for Fuji, he too was fast and flexible.
Fuji watched them both, trying to figure out who would make the next move. Anything seemed possible with this couple.
"Are you...blushing?" Tezuka asked, for everyone apparently. Everyone was standing there, staring at Rachel as if she were some sort of foreign substance talking to them.
Rachel immediately covered her face with a hand, trying to hide the blush that everyone had already seen. "Damn. Only he can do that."
"Ne, what's 'so chan' Rachel?" Kikumaru asked.
Rachel sighed. "It's a long story, and I'm not telling." she said. "Where's Haseo?" This question was directed to Tezuka.
He almost scoffed at her. Of course she would know he was previously with him. Rachel knew everything. "I don't know. He walked off awhile ago."
"Ah, what a horrible time." Rachel said. Then, she glared at the door of the bar, as if it had insulted her. "Huh, I couldn't have been more right." And with that said, she rushed out of the bar, leaving everyone else confused.
"I suppose I should try and follow her." Tezuka sighed, not looking forward to another chase. He couldn't keep up with Haseo, how was he supposed to keep up with Rachel?
Haseo sighed, sitting on the edge of the building. He stared out at the horizon, which was growing darker by the hour. The sun was setting in the opposite direction.
Meeting with Ovan always seemed to make him feel very dejected. Ovan always seemed to talk in circles, always saying the same thing, but in different ways. And they were never said. They always had to be interpreted through something else.
Haseo sighed again, looking down, towards the forest. His eyes widened in shock as he noticed a few people sparing below.
'People still do that for fun?' he thought to himself. He watched for a few moments, finally realizing that one of the combatants was Fuji. "What?" he said aloud this time. "Why is Fuji...?" It took him a moment to realize that Fuji wasn't doing that for fun. He counted three others, with Fuji excluded.
"Two on one? That seems mighty unfair." he said, noticing that only two were attacking while the other stood off to the side. He stood up. He considered jumping from where he was joining the fight when his thoughts all collided at once, and he realized he knew the other three. At once, he jumped off the rooftop, and down into the clearing below.
Fuji blocked the redhead's attack, only to find himself completely unguarded. He looked to his left to see the taller one running towards him, sword held high and ready for an attack. He was about to jump backwards when something came in-between him and the taller's blade.
"Haseo?" he asked out loud, unaware the other had been nearby.
The other turned to acknowledge him, but said nothing. Haseo instead concentrated on the two in front of him. The third was still standing off to the side, and Haseo couldn't help but wonder why he was here...with them no less.
Fuji took this chance to compose himself. He needed to reassess the situation. He wasn't sure what was going on anymore. No one had said anything, it was just the first attack and the several that followed. Fuji was sure why he was being assaulted.
The blue haired man chose Haseo as his target and the two fought like there was no tomorrow. Fuji didn't get much of a chance to watch, since the redhead was immediately on him almost as soon as the other attacked Haseo.
Haseo managed to knock back his assailant while Fuji still had a bit of trouble with his. They managed to switch opponents in that quick second, but not before the redhead thrust his sword through Fuji's left shoulder. He let out a quiet grunt before ignoring the pain entirely. He glanced to Haseo when he got the chance to. Haseo seemed to manage fine with the redhead.
The fight went on like that for a few minutes, until the redhead took over completely. This confused both Haseo and Fuji to the point of dropping their guards for a mere second, during which the redhead took complete advantage of. They noticed moments too late that the other was casting a spell in their general direction.
Both fighters braced themselves for the impact of the blast and the redhead jumped out of the way. The impact never came though, and Rachel took over their fight. Haseo and Fuji exchanged glances, and then the both of them completely dropped their guards. They relaxed, now that they knew it wasn't their fight anymore. Rachel had taken hold of the fight, and they weren't going to get it back.
Suddenly, they stopped. The two assailants smirked, looked at each other, and then turned for the forest. The third one, the one who did nothing but distract Fuji in the beginning, soon followed, only without the smirk.
Rachel sighed, placing a hand on her hip. "That went better than I expected."
Haseo immediately rushed to her side and pointed to the darkness that was where the assailants had left. The two had a bit of a staring contest when Tezuka finally joined the three.
He was panting heavily, causing Fuji to ask if he was alright.
"I should be asking you that!" Tezuka nearly yelled. "What happened?"
Fuji looked down to his shoulder. He had completely forgotten about that wound. He had done such a good job in ignoring the pain, he forgot about it entirely. Fuji was about to answer the question, but Haseo interrupted.
"You're okay with that!" he yelled, completely exasperated by Rachel's uncaring for the situation. "Why was he-"
"What am I gonna do about it? There isn't much, without seriously harming the three of them." Rachel explained, using a dangerous tone. "And don't even ask that."
Tezuka and Fuji watched the exchange. "Uh, Rachel?" Tezuka spoke up after Rachel and Haseo had started another staring contest. "What's going on?"
His question went ignored.
"You met with Ovan?" Rachel said, asking Haseo instead of answering Tezuka's question.
This seemed to catch Haseo off guard, much to the surprise of Tezuka and Fuji. He had a dejected look on his face and he looked away from all of them. "Yes."
Well that explained why Haseo ran off earlier, Tezuka thought to himself. But it didn't answer much. "Did he tell you anything? I'm sure he did." Rachel ventured further.
Haseo sighed. "Nothing I understand."
"You never understand anything he says." Rachel sighed, finally turning to Tezuka and Fuji. "Haseo's coming with me."
The statement was completely random, everyone but Rachel thought so. "What?" the three of them said in unison, nearly scaring them if they hadn't been so confused by Rachel.
Rachel walked up to Fuji, finally noticing his wound. She held up a hand above it and her hand and the wound began to glow a pale green. "There's something I need him for. Well, thanks to Ovan, I need him for."
"Who's Ovan?" Fuji asked, stretching out his shoulder once Rachel was done curing it.
"It's a long story." Rachel said. "But Haseo's coming with me for now. You can have him back tomorrow."
Tomorrow came much earlier than Tezuka anticipated. He was too restless, since Hyotei's border was a mere hour long walk from where they were now. Ryoma was close, and he hoped the younger was alright.
He stood outside the inn, with everyone behind him. He watched as the sun rose, turning the sky odd shades of colors he had never noticed before.
He rose a hand and placed it over his heart. A feeling of great anxiety was rising in him. He knew exactly why.
Tezuka turned and looked at everyone. It seemed odd, without Haseo. But it would have to do.
Today, they entered Hyotei. Today, they walked into enemy territory. Today, Tezuka was closer to saving Ryoma.
