Sorry for taking so long. I was busy with a lot of stuff, but have no fear I'm back!
I know I've been gone for a while, but to make it up I made this chapter extra long! (It's about 18 pages!)
Sadly, Atobe and Yuuta aren't in here but they will be in the next chapter! On the brightside: Akaya abuse is back! Plus you get to learn more about Ryo-chan's past!
Please Read, Review and Vote! This is your last chapter to vote on for Ryoma's pairing!
But you can vote for other pairings like, Golden pair or Perfect or etc... Even an OC! but you have to tell me which.
To Haruna Pan: It really is fun to abuse him. I'm glad someone else understands the fun in it *Fuji smile*
To Meg L.H: Thank you so much! I'm really glad you look forward to my story!
To senshiHg : Atobe did know who Ryoma was but he thought she was a boy and so he dismissed Ryoma's last name. Plus he was more focused on beating her than he was on her name.
Poll Results:
Sensual: 47
Thrill: 38
Royal: 20
Brat: 19
Otouto: 16
Pillar: 13
Cap: 9
Sleepy: 2
Shishido: 2
Ohotrori: 2
OT5: 3
OT6: 3
Thanks to everyone who is voting and reviewing! I love you all!
Please continue to vote and review and vote for other non-Ryoma pairings!
Me: Now I need to do the disclaimer...Why don't I have Ryo-chan do it and Yuu-chan can help too!
Ryoma: Who are you calling Ryo-chan?
Yuuta: And Yuu-chan?
Me: Do it. Plus I can call your okaa-san Ryoma. And Yuuta; you know Syuusuke really misses you. May I should just...
Yuuta: NO!
Ryoma: *looks upward* Kami-sama, do you hate us?
Me: Aww! Ryo-chan's a meanie!
Ryoma: It's true...Let's go Yuu-chan *smirk*
Yuuta: *glare* Fine, Ryo-chan *smirk*
Ryoma and Yuuta begin a glaring match.
Me: You guys...remember the disclaimer...I still have my phone. Syuusuke and Rinko are on speed dial...
Ryoma & Yuuta: *dives on me* NO!
Ryoma: Thankfully RainyNightSilhouette doesn't own PoT.
Yuuta: If she did there would be a whole lot of chaos.
Me: YAY! Thank you Ryo-chan and Yuu-chan!
"F-fuji-senpai?" she stuttered, confused. "Why are you here? I know you don't live here."
"Ryo-chan is that anyway to treat the person who saved you?" he asked, closing his eyes.
The look of confusion that had taken over Ryoma's face, quickly changed to one of annoyance. "I told you not to call me that Fuji-senpai," she said getting off of him.
She turned around and held her hand out. Fuji just stared at her hand, knowing it would make the younger teen annoyed.
After a few more moments Fuji's prediction came true. "Fuji-senpai, it's called a hand. You grab it and I help you up. Now take it," she growled growing more agitated.
"Saa, Ryo-chan if you wanted to hold my hand all you had to do was ask you know," he smiled grasping the smaller hand. He watched in amusement as the golden-eyed girl's face turned a bright red color.
"Who says I want to hold your hand!" she stormed down the next flight of stairs, her face still red.
Fuji chuckled silently at his kouhai's reaction. He turned and continued up the stairs that Ryoma just fell down, when a voice stopped him. "Arigato Fuji-senpai" a small feminine voice whispered.
Fuji smiled to himself and continued walking up the stairs but not before calling out, "Your welcome Ryo-chan."
Ryoma rushed into the kitchen and nearly missed crashing into Sayaka.
"Ryoma-chan! Be careful when you're running!" the older woman said grabbing the short teenager. Sayaka was about to ask what she was in a hurry for when she saw the girl's face.
"Kawaii!" the bluenette exclaimed. "Ryoma-chan is blushing! It must be over a boy! Who is he?"
"Mou Sayaka-onee-chan! I'm not blushing over a boy!" Ryoma insisted trying to hide her blush.
Sayaka only grinned wider at Ryoma's outburst, "Whatever you say Ryoma-chan~!" The older girl turned around and began getting out some pots and pans.
Ryoma sighed knowing she couldn't say anything to change the older girl's mind. "How many people are we cooking for?" the younger girl asked. Ryoma asked more out of habit than anything else. She knew that everyone in the house usually ate together but after years of eating somewhat alone she just couldn't stop asking.
"About 18 people…. I would make for about 27 people though," Sayaka answered, heading to the pantry.
"NANI! Why so much?" Ryoma exclaimed nearly dropping the pan in her hand.
Sayaka turned towards her new 'sister' and deadpanned, "Have you seen the way you all eat?"
Ryoma smiled sheepishly, "Well, you do have a point but it's still a lot."
Sayaka smiled at the younger girl, 'It seems that she doesn't know how close the boys are to each other.' "Yes, well sometimes we get visitors. I don't think he'll come today though."
The tennis prodigy stared at her friend before shaking her head; she would figure it our sooner or later.
The golden-eyed girl headed over to the fridge and a smile broke out on her face. There were so many fresh-looking ingredients and tons of meats and cheeses for her to cook with. She quickly grabbed as much food as she could carry and set it down on the counter and began chopping the food.
"Ryo-chan? What are we cooking?" the bluenette asked the girl curiously.
"Hi-mi-tsu~!" Ryoma replied happily. "Now chop this and turn the oven on," she said handing the older girl various meats.
The blue-eyed girl shook her head and smiled at the shorter girl, 'Well her mother did say she became like another person in the kitchen.'
"I wonder what Ochibi-chan is going to cook?" a certain girl's senpai asked thoughtfully.
"I hope there's cake!" the Rikkaidai acrobat exclaimed.
"Well whatever Echizen-chan makes is delicious, so anything's fine with me" Hyotei's sleeping tensai said with a smile.
Everyone who had dinner made my Ryoma nodded in silent agreement. Her food was definitely delicious. In fact the very thought of such a delicious dinner made a few of them drool.
The ones who hadn't eaten with them simply stared at them curiously. Except for Fuji who was grinning like the Cheshire cat.
"Fuji-ko? Why are you grinning like that?" Kikumaru asked slightly concerned.
"Like what, Eiji?" the brunette asked, still smiling.
"There is a 97% chance he is going to pull a prank or embarrass someone," Inui said, scribbling in his notebook.
Everyone in the room aside from the other sadist felt a chill run down their back. Whenever Fuji smiled like that the rest of them were most likely in for a world of embarrassment and pain.
"Oishi! Fuji-ko is scaring me!" the redhead exclaimed, jumping on his doubles partner.
"Speaking of which. You've been grinning like that since you came into the room. Did something happen Fuji-senpai?" Kirihara asked from his hiding spot behind Niou. Fuji's smile scared the poor boy a bit more than everyone else since he had a tendency to get caught in nearly every one of Fuji's pranks, whether it was intended for him or not. Inside his head the second-year ace wailed, 'Please do not be planning something! Kami-sama if you care for me or if you pity me at all please don't let him be planning something!'
"Saa, I got to tease Ryo-chan on my way up," he replied, smiling.
"Poor Echizen-chan has the tensais after her," Marui grumbled.
A few people sent up silent prayers for their new kouhai. Even Kirihara felt bad for the girl, 'Poor evil demon chibi. I wouldn't wish that fate on ANYONE.' Tezuka and Sanada rubbed their temples, 'I have a feeling I'm going to be needing some more aspirin,' they thought in unison. Inui muttered a quick, "Iie data," before scribbling more in his notebook. The other tricksters, laughed a little though.
Shishido, who wasn't here for the 'dinner incident' looked at Rikkaidai's acrobat in question, "What do you mean by both?"
"Yukimura stole Ocihibi's innocence!" Kikumaru explained before Gakuto interrupted him.
"Well, we were all going to dinner and Marui-baka was running down the stairs and jumped on the couch. We thought he landed on someone and killed them, but it turned out to be Echizen-chan, who was sleeping. So, we tried to wake her up but nothing worked," he paused taking a breath.
"She bit me!" Kirihara exclaimed, a bit outraged. Just remembering it ticked him off.
"Anyways, after the first attempt Mura-buchou tried to wake her up. Except he-he kissed on the lips!" Marui said.
The room got deathly silent as everyone turned towards Yukimura. The bluenette simply smiled and said, "I thought it would be funny to see your reactions. Besides I didn't actually kiss her. It only looked like I did. I actually blew in her ear."
More silence.
"Iie data" Seigaku's data master muttered, writing in his notebook.
'I'm going to need some more aspirin' Tezuka and Sanada thought simultaneously.
"Fshh," Kaidoh sighed. Why did he have to get stuck with the weird housemates?
A few people *read: Oishi and Ootori* got a bit more worried.
Some of the others *read: Shishido, Gakuto, Niou and Marui* simply sent more silent prayers to the short girl.
The rest looked surprised and…all right with it?
"Nya! I see now! Yukimura didn't steal Ochibi's innocence. It's ok now!" Kikumaru exclaimed happily.
Fuji just looked at his friend and fellow sadist. He didn't know what he was feeling inside but he just didn't like that his friend almost kissed his kouhai.
"Minna! Dinner's ready!" a loud feminine voice called up.
The sound of cheers met the call. The group of boys then got up and headed downstairs.
The sound of happy and appreciative sighs met Ryoma's ears, as everyone finished their meal. Ryoma and Sayaka had prepared 2 glazed ducks with cranberry sauce, chicken stir-fry and a large pot of rice. To normal people it would be a huge amount of food, but for this group of teenagers it was still not enough. The two girls knew this and decided to make strawberry shortcake and a pumpkin pie.
Ryoma was about to get the desserts when Sayaka came out with them. "We made dessert too!" she cried happily.
Sayaka was happy to finally be able to make dessert without having to do it during dinner. The boys were sweet and amazing tennis players but their skill in the kitchen left something to be desired. The bluenette shuddered remembering their cooking attempts, 'I didn't know curry could become blue,' she thought to herself.
Polite thank-yous and loud cheers met her arrival. She set the picturesque desserts down and stepped back. If it weren't for the strict and watchful buchous and fukubuchou the boys probably would have started fighting over the food.
The sole females watched in amusement as the boys tried to discreetly steal their friends' food. Their amusement turned into laughter when one of the wanna be thieves *read: Kirihara* was bit by one of the would be victims *read: Marui*. Kirihara yelped and hid behind Sayaka.
"Buchou! Marui-senpai bit me!" the 'Devil' cried.
"Buchou! Akaya tried to STEAL my cake!" the acrobat responded immediately.
Yukimura looked at his two teammates and smiled, "Kirihara, stealing is wrong. I know that no one from Rikkaidai would dare try to steal. Such an offense could lead to a match with me."
Everyone in the room felt the temperature drop 10 degrees. Kirihara hid behind the older girl even more.
"Marui, you shouldn't have bitten Kirihara. He is our kouhai and as such needs guidance and discipline. Taking away all of his desserts would have sufficed," the sadistic buchou continued with a smile.
Kirihara whimpered and tried to make himself as small as possible. "Gomenasai, senpai. I promise I'll never ever do it again!" the 'Devil of the Court' cried in terror.
The rest of the table broke into full-blown laughter or as close as most could get *read: small genuine/sadistic smiles *. Even the people who usually got headaches from these sort of situations or became irritated *read: Tezuka, Sanada and Kaidoh* gave a small uplift of their lips *read: a smile*.
Sayaka looked around the room and saw the happy faces of the boys she has come to think of as otoutos. However what really brought a smile to her face was the pure, unguarded happiness on her new 'imouto's' face. The older female knew that the newest addition to her 'family' had gone through a large amount of psychological pain and trauma both from the incident and from leaving America. She remember clearly when her long-time friend, Rinko called her in panic and terror after she had gotten Ryoma back.
~Flashback~
Sayaka was in the kitchen washing the dishes from breakfast that morning. Normally the boys would do them but today they had an important meeting they all needed to go to.
The kind blue-eyed woman looked out the window up to the sky. It was a dark grey and you could feel the storm approaching. She dismissed the foreboding feeling she felt, chalking it up to concern about the upcoming storm.
Sayaka began to dry the dishes when the vase behind her cracked. She spun around quickly and saw the pieces fall to the counter it was resting on. Her heart began to hammer in her chest and she felt fear crawl up her throat.
The vase was one of the most precious things Sayaka had. It was not particularly expensive but it was important to her nonetheless. The light aqua and cream accented vase had been given to her by one of her best friends, Takeuchi Rinko, now Echizen Rinko. She remember the letter her bright friend had sent to her, gushing about how her little baby girl had picked it out specifically for her. Sayaka was surprised to say the least but it was quickly replaced by a warm happy feeling. For some reason she felt a lot closer to the baby now.
With deft hands, the bluenette slowly picked up the vase pieces. She stared at them with unseeing eyes, a feeling of pure terror crashing down on her.
Suddenly, the telephone beside the sink began to ring.
Sayaka quickly ran to the phone, a feeling of urgency pushing her.
"Hello?" she asked fearfully. She knew it had something to do with the Echizens but she wasn't sure if she could handle it.
"Saya?" a familiar voice sobbed. Sayaka's eyes widened, only one person called her that.
"Saya? It's me, Rinko," the voice sobbed hesitantly.
One of the things Sayaka knew about her friend was that it took a lot for her to cry. Whenever Rinko came across something most people would cry over she didn't cry. No, she became furious. In fact she wouldn't even shed a tear she would just grow angrier and try to right whatever wrong had been done. Sayaka had only seen her friend cry in happiness, relief or in helplessness.
"Rin-chan, what-," the bluenette asked in concern.
"It's Ryoma. Oh god, Saya! My baby! My baby!" Rinko sobbed, cutting her off.
Sayaka felt her blood run cold. She hadn't met Ryoma in person but Rinko had told her a lot about her daughter. She knew the 15 year-old-girl had a rough side but she was still really sweet. In fact, Ryoma seemed to be one of the most caring people she had ever heard of. Sure, she could be a bit hyper, sadistic, violent, forgetful, harsh and temperamental (according to Rinko) but she really did care. Rinko hadn't told her what happened but Sayaka would bet anything that something bad had happened to Ryoma.
"Saya! How-how could someone hurt her like that? She didn't do anything wrong! Oh god!" Rinko sobbed harder.
"Rin-" Sayaka began again.
"Why HER? Why my baby? What could they have against her?" the sobbing mother began crying hysterically.
"RINKO!" the normally calm 29-year-old yelled. Sayaka waited until she heard her friend's crying calm down. "You know crying won't help anything. Please, tell me what happened."
Rinko gathered her courage, took a deep breath and began her story. "It was 3 days ago. Tennis practice went late and so Ryoma called and told us she would be late coming home. I didn't feel worried, things that like happen. So I prepared dinner for her and went upstairs to watch TV. Nanji-kun was out with some of his old tennis friends and Ryoga was out on a date. I was all alone so I decided to wait for her. I waited and waited and waited but she didn't come home. I waited for 6 hours before I tried to call her. I was expecting her to pick up and say one of her friends invited her over and that she forgot to tell me. But, she didn't pick up. I called again and she didn't pick up. I got worried so I called her friends. Kelly, Joel and Kevin all said that they saw Ryoma head home, as the 'Prince'. She had gone to tennis practice after a charity match that day. I started to get even more scared. I called her again and when she didn't pick up I called the police. I knew it hadn't been 24 hours but she was gone! The police said that they would look for her so I called Nanji and Ryoga. They were terrified and they told me that they were going out to look for her. I knew that they wanted me to stay home but my baby was gone! I had to go out and look for her. I went outside to look for her and I called Kevin again so he could call their other teammates. I don't know how long I looked for her, but the next thing I know, I saw the sun begin to rise. I didn't know what to do so I walked back home and I opened the door, hoping to find her but she wasn't there! I was about to call the school when the phone rang. It was the police; they had found her tennis bag. They said that they found it near the street courts. I knew something was terribly terribly wrong when they said that. Ryoma would die before she just left her tennis bag just lying around. After that I called the school, but the principal already knew. He said that the tennis team was out searching for her and I resumed searching myself. However, no matter where any of us looked we couldn't find her. Another day went by and it became today. I was about to check another part of the city when I got a phone call. It was the police. They had found my Ryoma. They told me that she was in the hospital. I jumped into my car and drove as fast as I could but when I got here they told me she's in surgery. The police found me and told me what happened, it seems as though some people kidnapped her and they tortured her. Oh god! My baby! My poor baby!" she finished, her voice breaking.
Sayaka was floored, Ryoma, the cute, stubborn tennis fanatic was kidnapped and tortured. 'No. No. Things like that weren't suppose to happen to people like Ryoma. I don't know her very well but from what I've heard she is bright, happy, and sarcastic. Things like that don't happen to people like her. Not to people I know,' Sayaka thought in disbelief. She felt herself drowning in despair and pain when a bright light hit her; Ryoma and Rinko need her. Rinko needs her and Ryoma needs her mother.
"Rinko, is Ryoma going to be ok?" she asked, unsure.
"I-I don't know, she's still in surgery," was the soft, broken reply.
"They haven't come and gotten you yet, so she must still be alive! We have to believe in Ryoma, Rinko. She's and Echizen-Takeuchi! She's strong, stubborn and there's no way she'd go down without a fight. We just have to believe in her," Sayaka said trying to breathe hope into her distraught friend.
"I-I. Yes. You're right. She is an Echizen-Takeuchi and we do NOT go down without a fight. I-Thank you Saya. Nanji and Ryoga and her teammates are here but I just didn't know who to turn to. Nanji and Ryoga are shaking and her teammates look like the life has been sucked out of their bodies…. I know what to do now. I need to be strong for Ryoma, for my family," the brunette spoke in a strong tone.
Sayaka smiled at her the tone in her friend's voice. She was happy her friend, who was 7 years her senior, was acting normally again. Sayaka believed that the brunette was much too hard on her self. Even if it wasn't her fault, the brown-eyed woman always felt responsible.
"Rin-chan, I believe you have some people waiting for you. I want you to call me later but remember, you have to stay strong," the blue-eyed woman said.
"You're right. I'll call you later Saya!" the brunette replied.
~End Flashback~
In the end Rinko only called Sayaka back to tell her that Ryoma was alive. She said that all the other details were top secret. Due to that, Sayaka never pushed but she remembered Rinko telling her how traumatized Ryoma was she had said that the golden-eyed girl didn't even talk the first 4 days.
The now 30-year-old looked up and saw the object of her previous thoughts smiling. She couldn't help but notice how healthy and bright Ryoma looked.
After a few more jokes at Kirihara's expense, the teenagers finally settled down enough to decide what they wanted to do. Sayaka wasn't participating because she went to do the dishes and declined any and all help.
"Ne, Why don't we go and play hide-and-go-seek?" Kikumaru asked enthusiastically.
"Where, puri?" Niou asked with a mischievous grin.
"Outside," Gakuto said quickly. No one wanted to give Niou freedom to explore the house *read: their rooms*.
Kikumaru and Gakuto looked around, "Everyone in?" They were met with varying levels of agreement.
Together, all 17 teens headed to the door. However along the way Ryoma remembered something.
"I forgot my shoes upstairs. You guys go on ahead," she said turning back towards the stairs.
Ryoma headed up the stairs and quickly ran to her room. She opened the door and turned on the lights. She was about to get her shoes from her closet when she saw the package on her desk. The tomboy remembered that she had yet to open the package and so it's content was still a mystery to her. She guessed it was probably a dress from her mother so she had waited to open it but she knew it was now or never. 'Never is a good idea,' she though to herself.
She pulled the box towards her and found a pair of scissors. Carefully, she cut the tape off the top and sides of the box. The tennis prodigy pulled the flaps apart and peered inside of the box.
She bit back a muffled scream and backpedaled to her door. The cocky girl started to pant as she collapsed to the floor. "Oh god….. Oh god…No…. No," she shook. She curled herself into a small ball on the floor as the tears flowed silently down her face.
What she saw in the box was certainly not a dress nor was it anything her mother would send her. Inside the box was a picture smeared with blood. To be more specific it was a picture of her and her savior.
During the incident Ryoma endured unthinkable torture and saw horrors most children should never have to see. This picture captured Ryoma's terror perfectly. In showed the young girl shackled to a wall, her side gushing with blood, watching her savior struggle to breathe as she lay on the ground, bleeding from the whip wounds.
The Polaroid brought back memories of pain and torture, but most of all of her savior, Toren. The one person who helped her endure the pain she experienced. He was the one to give her a reason to not give up. What was the worst part of the package was the fact that it was smeared with blood.
"Please…Oh god…. No…. Please…. No" she whispered, growing even more desperate with every word. Ryoma began to shake violently as she became lost in her own thoughts.
The golden-eyed girl felt the pain from the torture reappear on her body. Every blow, every kick, every whip began to rain down upon her all over again. She clutched her head, trying to shield herself from the phantom blows.
"Stop…. It hurts…. It hurts…Toren…. save me…TOREN!" Ryoma cried. Normally she would have tried to muffle her screams but the tennis prodigy wasn't really there, at least not mentally.
~Meanwhile with the boys~
The 16 boys were waiting for the lone girl of their group, when one of the less tactful boys voiced his thoughts.
"I wish Ryoma-chan made lunch," Marui sighed.
"Me too! Even if she is a demon chibi she sure does make good food," Kirihara nodded in agreement.
"Then we should ask Ochibi!" Kikumaru responded enthusiastically.
"Eiji! You should think about Echizen-chan before you suggest something like that. I'm sure she has enough to do without you guys having her make your lunches," Oishi scolded.
"But Oishi! We were just hoping. It's not like we were actually going to ask her," Seigaku's acrobat whined.
"Even if we did I don't think she would mind," Akutagawa stated, looking very awake for once.
"What makes you say that?" Oshitari asked. A chorus of "Yeah"s followed the tensai's question.
"Well," Akutagawa began. "If you looked at her during dinner you would have seen how happy she looked. And when we complimented her, it grew even bigger. She hid it pretty well though; she only smiled when we weren't looking."
The boys quietly digested this information. Only Seigaku's buchou and tensai and Rikkaidai's buchou and fukubuchou saw a glimpse of said smile, but it was so fleeting that they weren't quite sure. Now that they knew what they saw was real they believed that Hyotei's resident volley genius did have a point. The others also believed the volley specialist because it seemed plausible.
"So," Kikumaru began.
"Do you think that if we asked her to make us lunch," Kirihara continued.
"She would say yes?" Marui finished. All three boys looked at the narcoleptic in hope.
"Based on Akutagawa-san's statement. I would say there is a 79% chance of her saying yes," Inui concluded, writing in his notebook.
"Regardless. That would be inconsiderate towards Echizen-chan," Oishi said, giving the three boys a stern look.
Before the boys could protest or convince Seigaku's mother hen a voice interrupted them.
"She's been gone a long time, fsshhh," Kaidoh said frowning.
"It has been 15 minutes," Tezuka said.
"Spending 15 minutes to get shoes is normal for a girl," Shishido reasoned.
"That may be true but this is Echizen-san. She is more of a tomboy than a normal girl," Oshitari added.
"She is a person who doesn't seem to care what she wears," Inui put in.
"Do you think something happened?" Ootori asked in concern.
"Perhaps Ryo-chan simply didn't want to come and play with us. It could be because of some people's attitude," Fuji smiled.
"Nani! Ochibi hates us! What shall we do?" Kikumaru exclaimed, jumping on Oishi.
"She may never make us food ever again. And it's all your fault, puri," Niou added, grinning.
The less oblivious members knew that Seigaku's tensai and Rikkaidai's trickster were teaming up again. 'This can only lead to a headache,' Sanada and Tezuka thought.
"No food?" Marui, Kirihara, Kikumaru and Gakuto exclaimed in terror.
"Oishi! What will we do?" Kikumaru moaned again.
"Eiji, you need to calm down. I'm sure Echizen-chan doesn't hate any of us. Niou and Fuji were just joking," his doubles partner said, trying to calm down the redhead.
"Is that true Fuji-ko?" the normally hyperactive acrobat asked.
"Saa, who knows?" Fuji asked with a grin.
"Nya~! Fuji-ko is mean!" the reassured redhead pouted.
"Even so, Echizen-chan really has been gone for awhile," Marui said.
"Fsshhh, I think we should go check on her," Kaidoh said.
The other tennis players nodded in agreement and headed inside. They ran up the stairs and headed for the raven-haired girl's room.
Yukimura was about to knock when he heard a voice crying softly.
"Ryoma-chan?" he asked quietly. The sobbing continued, getting a bit louder.
"Ryoma-chan?" he asked louder, knocking on the door. Again the crying grew louder.
"Ryoma!" he yelled desperately. He could hear he sobs and for some reason, he felt like he needed to get to her.
He was about to yell again when he heard the crying stop. After a few moments of silence a small feeble voice sounded through the door, "Don't come in. I'm fine. I apologize for being late."
Rikkaidai's buchou wanted to go in anyway but he restrained himself. "Alright. We'll be waiting downstairs Ryoma-chan," he said, clearly still worried about the young girl.
"Alright. I will try to hurry," the soft, almost unrecognizable voice said.
The sadistic bluenette turned towards his fellow tennis players and shook his head. "She said that she would be down in a minute. She told us to go back downstairs," he said, walking back over to the stairs.
The other tennis players gave a look of confusion but followed the bluenette downstairs. None of them went downstairs without giving a look of confusion to the cocky tomboy's door.
~With Ryoma~
"Ryoma!" a loud voice broke through the haze. Ryoma slowly opened her eyes. She expected to see the cold dark warehouse that haunts her dreams, but instead she saw her room in Japan.
She took a deep breath to calm her rapid heartbeat and rubbed her eyes to stop the tears. When she wiped away all her tears, 'I can't believe I just crumbled like that. Crying never solved anything,' she internally berated herself.
She took a few more deep breaths and remembered what pulled her away from her memories. 'Shoot! Someone is at the door,' she panicked. Gathering all of her strength she managed to speak, "Don't come in. I'm fine. I apologize for being late."
After a few moments Ryoma heard a strong, familiar voice respond, "Alright. We'll be waiting downstairs Ryoma-chan." The tennis prodigy could tell that the speaker was worried but knew better than to press her. For that she was grateful.
With an inaudible sigh of relief she closed her eyes, "Alright. I will try to hurry." The shaken up girl waited against the wall with her eyes closed until she heard the boys file downstairs. 'They definitely won't let this go. I know they'll try to find out but until they do I can always fake it,' she thought as she calmed her turbulent emotions. "I can't let others get involved….Not again," she whispered to herself.
The golden-eyed girl slowly picked herself up off the floor and headed to her bathroom. When she finally emerged it looked like she had never been crying; her eyes weren't red nor were they puffy. The only indications of her previous mental breakdown were the various crescent moon marks on her body, from the intense pressure she applied in her broken state, and her disheveled hair. Even her voice, which was hoarse and soft before, was clear and normal.
Avoiding the box, she put on a light jacket to cover the marks on her body and grabbed her shoes before she headed out the door. Quickening her steps, she raced downstairs to meet the boys, throwing all thought of the incident away from her. When she hit the last few stairs she carefully schooled her face into a nearly flawless mask of indifference.
The boys were all facing towards each other, silently thinking about what they had heard. They were so lost in their thoughts that they didn't notice the object of their thoughts sneak up behind their youngest member.
"Why are you all so serious," the girl asked, her head right next to the 'Demon's' ear.
"AHHHH!" the second-year ace screamed, falling over the chair he was sitting on.
The girl watched in silent fascination as the seaweed haired boy fell off the chair's arm and into the chair. After which, he fell off the chair and on to the floor with a loud "OOF".
"Seaweed head should really be more careful. He just fell out of nowhere," Ryoma said, staring at the boy on the floor.
Kirihara stood up, "Who just fell out of nowhere chibi?" With his vein throbbing, the boy grabbed Ryoma's cheeks and started pulling on them.
Carefully hiding her momentary freeze, she deadpanned, "You did baka seaweed head."
As Kirihara's vein began to throb more he pulled on the young girls cheeks more. Getting fed up with this, Ryoma did what she had done so many times before, she bit him. However this time she bite four of his fingers.
Another pained shriek erupted from the boy as he quickly dropped the girl to hide behind his cake-loving teammate. "She bit me! She bit me!" the boy moaned, nursing his bitten fingers.
The remaining boys, who had previously been stunned silent, erupted in laughter. They had thought she would be demure, broken and unstable. They were expecting her to wear a fake smile, not he usual look of indifference. However only a few noticed it was a mask. That everything she did was a farce.
"Are we going or not?" Ryoma asked, heading for the door.
The other tennis players hurried to follow and went outside as well. When they were all in the backyard they gathered in a circle to explain parameters and who would be 'it'.
"Ok, so here are the rules," Oshitari began. "1) The yard is fair game, but do not leave the yard. 2) You can hide wherever you want as long as you stay in the yard. 3) You can run and switch hiding places. 4) You can't set any traps for the person who is it," he said with a small glare at Niou.
"Hey! No one told me I couldn't and I did not want to be it, puri," the trickster said with a smirk.
Oshitari glared a bit more at Rikkaidai's trickster. "Anyway," he continued. " 5) No injuring the person who is 'it'. 6) Whoever is 'it' must count to 30 before running off. 7) When they are counting their eyes must be closed and covered," a glare was sent to Fuji.
All Fuji did was smile, like usual. Ryoma could already tell this was going to be interesting.
With a sigh Hyotei's blue haired tensai began again, "8) When you are found you must help the person who is 'it'. And 9) The last person found wins. Everyone understand?"
Everyone nodded their heads in silent agreement. Simultaneously they all lifted their hands, "JAN, KEN, PON!" The result of their rock-paper-scissors game was that everyone except for Yukimura, Sanada, Tezuka, Oshitari and Niou chose paper. The others chose scissors.
The remaining people yelled out, "JAN, KEN, PON!" Kaidoh, Inui, Shishido, Gakuto and Fuji won this round.
After two more rounds it was only Ryoma and Kirihara left. The two rookies glared at each other, "JAN, KEN, PON!" Ryoma chose paper and Kirihara chose paper.
"NO!" Kirihara moaned. "Why does Kami hate me?"
Kirihara hated being 'it'. Whenever he was he always got trapped in Niou's traps or someone was running from his helpers and ended up jumping on him.
With a sigh he covered his eyes and began counting, "Ichi. Ni. San…."
The other tennis players ran off to hide. They all ran in different directions, some hiding in a tree, others behind bushes and fountains and one person hid on top of the gazebo. It had a ledge that went up a bit so Ryoma was completely hidden.
From her vantage point the girl could easily see Kirihara running around, looking for people. She saw him pass by Kaidoh-senpai and run right by Sanada-senpai. It wasn't that the two boys were hiding well, it was more like Kirihara was just bad at hide-and-go-seek.
Smothering her amusement she saw him nearly miss Gakuto-senpai. In fact Kirihara would have missed him entirely except the branch Gakuto-senpai was perched on snapped and he jumped down, landing on Kirihara.
After Kirihara got Gakuto-senpai to help him the game became a lot more challenging. Gakuto, like Kikumaru had very good eye-sight and therefore he was able to see other people easily.
Pretty soon there were only 4 people left. Yukimura, Akutagawa, Inui and Ryoma were the only ones who could avoid or at least hide from everyone. Only Akutagawa and Ryoma hadn't moved from their spots. Yukimura and Inui just kept moving.
The 'Prince' saw a few of the helpers coming her way and she decided to move. Quietly the golden-eyed girl crawled over to a branch that was hanging by the gazebo and jumped on it. She walked swiftly to the base of the branch and flipped over it. She was hanging by her hands and she quickly swung over to the branch below her. She repeated by this action until she reached the ground. She saw Kirihara walking by the tree she was now crouched by and decided to throw a rock at his feet.
With a small, thunk the rock landed by the boy's feet. He crouched down and picked it up. Ryoma took this time to run right behind him and into the trees to his left.
Akaya lifted his head up, "What was that? It felt like the wind but it was laughing….It was a ghost!" he yelped. The scared boy ran right past Ryoma and into the gazebo.
The teenage girl giggled quietly as she heard the boy mumble quiet prayers and ran to her new hiding spot. She hid behind 2 large trees but she hoisted herself up on to a branch. Which she used as leverage to jump onto the braches that hung over the tennis players' head. Even Sanada didn't see her when he walked under the branches.
Leaning back she heard Akutagawa get found. It turns out he wasn't hiding, he just fell asleep in the hole of a tree. After a few more moments she heard Inui get found after he fell into one of Niou's traps. Rikkaidai's trickster had set up a trap even though he was told not to. Neither of the newly found boys seemed to mind being found. Truth be told, Inui was happy to be found because he got more data.
Shinsei's newest regular decided that it was high time she got down from the tree. She jumped down and crouched behind the tree. With a stifled yawn, she relaxed against the tree trunk. Within a few minutes she had fallen into a light slumber.
The 'Demon' of Rikkaidai found the tennis prodigy in that state. She was sleeping lightly but for once the normally rowdy walked quietly. He saw how peaceful her face was and he felt a smile grace his face. The normally cocky and sarcastic chibi actually looked cute and child-like for once.
He squatted down and stared at the girl's face. He couldn't actually believe that Echizen Ryoma was asleep. Kirihara had expected the small girl to be awake and easy to catch but as of now she was the second to last person to be found.
The next thing the boy did was incredibly stupid. He tried to wake Ryoma up…..again. The green-eyed boy used his index finger to poke her cheek. Subconsciously Ryoma turned and bit his finger. He jerked his hand back and screamed in silent pain. She had bitten the same finger she had bitten numerous times before.
With his wounded finger in his mouth he used his other hand to shake the girl awake. He didn't expect the girl's golden eyes to shoot open and widen in terror. With unseeing eyes the girl looked at the green-eyed boy's and jump up and out of his light grasp.
Ryoma's breath came out in pants and she clutched her shirt. Kirihara saw her distress and reached out to touch her arm when she slapped his arm and screamed, "NO!" and backed up.
Kirihara took a step closer to the girl, "Echizen-chan?"
The sound of his voice snapped Ryoma out of her terror and she looked at her senpai again. This time she saw who it was. This time she didn't see the monster that usually haunts her memories. Instead she saw her senpai with concern written all over his face.
Realizing what she had done she backed up more, "Oh god….I….I….Gomenasai, senpai," she whispered.
Before the green-eyed boy could open his mouth the horrified female ran off. She ran past him and ran not towards the house but towards the tennis courts.
For once in his life, Kirihara Akaya, was stunned by a girl. The look of raw terror froze him in his tracks and all he could do was stand there. Her words resounded through his head, "Oh god….I….I….Gomenasai, senpai." Those 6 words jolted him out of his thoughts and without a second thought he ran after her.
~Page Break~
Ryoma didn't know where she was but at that moment she just didn't care. All she wanted to do was run. The only thought in her mind was to get as far away from everyone as possible. She didn't even notice the boys she ran past.
She was completely embarrassed and terrified but what really drove her was the panic she felt. She looked up with hazy eyes and saw a track. She started to slow down when a hand gripped her arm.
"Echizen!" a voiced called out in concern.
Ryoma whirled around and saw Kirihara staring at her in concern, "What is it senpai?"
Kirihara stared at her a bit more before he asked, "What happened? Whatever it is I'm sorry."
Ryoma felt a splash of horror hit her, he thought it was his fault? "No, baka don't flatter yourself," she said trying to cover up her guilt.
Kirihara scowled at the younger teen. 'What? This chibi! I was just worried! Geez! She doesn't have to be so rude! That's the last time I ever care!' he thought. He was about to open his mouth to voice his opinions; when a voice interrupted him.
"I have my own problems. It's not your fault. Just forget about it. Gomenasai," a quiet voice spoke turning around. The sincerity and the pain in her voice struck him.
The girl managed to slip out of Kirihara's grasp and began running to the track. When she hit the track she began to run. She became a machine; step, step, breathe, step, step, breathe, and repeat.
Kirihara watched his kouhai run laps and thought, 'Maybe, just maybe she's not so bad.' He was about to run after her and talk to her when he remembered how she reacted the last time, 'I guess she just needs to be alone'. With that he ran back to the house, but not before tripping over a tree root.
If Kirihara had run after her he would have seen the tears running down her eyes. "I hate this. I hate this. I hate myself. Why am I so weak?" she asked herself. Her eyes held the pain no young girl should ever feel and she felt disgusted with herself. 'This is why I came to Japan. I came to heal' she thought angrily.
By the time Ryoma had stopped running and walked back to the house, there was no one left outside. She was glad for the emptiness and the silence, for she did not want to answer the questions she knew Kirihara would have.
The tennis prodigy turned and walked up the stairs to her room. When she got into the room she flopped on to her bed. She sighed and picked up her phone and saw that Kelly and Joel as well as her other friends had sent her some emails. Ryoma smiled at her friends' emails. It was comforting to knowing they were ok and that they weren't giving up. When she finally finished writing replies to her friends she opened the one she had been saving for last, Kevin's.
Ryoma!
How are you?
I am training as usual and practice is going good. We all miss you. I can't wait to see you again. I heard your team is really strong. Did you make it? What am I asking? Of course you did. You better keep practicing for a next match, when you come back.
Kelly is annoying, as usual and Joel is cool, of course. Nothing has really changed except we've got a new regular. He's pretty cool. I still miss you. I mean I don't know how you handle all the paper work for tournaments! SAVE ME! Kelly wouldn't let me leave until I finished it all . Joel couldn't even help me! Plus the lunches Kelly makes are awful! She burnt ice! Ice! I miss your food! *cries*
Anyways, how are you? Are you ok? Your call totally freaked me out! I just wanted you to know that we are doing our best to watch out for you over here. Don't worry it'll be different this time. Trust me. ;)
I checked on that person you asked me to. He's doing well. In fact I think he knows you're not here. The doctors said that his brain activity is getting a lot higher. I'll keep you updated.
I better wrap this up; Kelly keeps bothering me. I think it's her shopping-withdrawal. You better send her some clothes! And you should send Joel and I some food while you're at it. I don't think Kelly should cook again.
Write back soon!
-Kev, the amazing
P.S Train hard so we can have a match soon!
Ryoma smiled at one of her best friends' email. For some reason she always liked to read Kevin's emails last; perhaps it's because he's always complaining about something and he's reasons are just ridiculous. 'His actually make sense if I read Kelly and Joel's first,' she thought in amusement.
The cat-eyed girl was a little sad that she worried her friends but she was happy they were getting along all right without her. She yawned tiredly and headed to the bathroom. She quickly got changed and went to bed, cuddling with Karupin.
The entire time Karupin had just sat and watched his master cry. He knew she didn't want pity or sorrow or worry, all she wanted was courage to face her fears. However he was always watching her quietly. When she was crying, he curled next to her, not that she noticed, and when she was running around, he was waiting in the tree making sure the strange seaweed-boy stayed away. However he did get to hang out with that nice bandana-wearing boy that lived here. He liked to feed and give Karupin a lot of treats.
During his observations he noticed that his master was in pain. It hurt the Himalayan cat to know that she was hurting but he understood she wanted to find her own strength. However, even if she didn't want help he would stand by her side.
The tennis addict cuddled the Himalayan cat and soon fell into a deep slumber. Which Karupin followed her faithfully in to. It was a long day and the two were grateful for the sleep. Tomorrow was a new day with many new things to come.
The boys had all changed into their pajamas earlier and were sitting up playing games and talking. Tomorrow they didn't have school so many of them decided to have a sleep over. They were enjoying themselves but their little kouhai never left their minds. She worried them greatly but much of their worries calmed when they heard her door open and close. They released a collective sigh and returned to their individual conversations and/or games.
After another hour or so of talking and games the boys soon began to drift to sleep. Some actually went to bed properly *read: Sanada, Tezuka, Inui, Oshitari, and Kaidoh*, others struggled to stay awake but quickly drifted off *read: Kikumaru, Gakuto, Marui, Shishido and Akutagawa* and subconsciously cuddled with others, which pulled them into the depths of sleep as well *read: Oishi, Niou and Ootori*. However a few stayed awake thinking. Each was thinking about the newest housemate and the secrets and unknown skills they knew lied beneath the surface
It's done! YAY! Please Read and Review! I love all the answers to my questions! =)
So, now it's question time! Yay! Wow there are a lot...
1) Who is Torren?
2) What will Akaya and Yuki and Fuji do regarding Ryoma?
3) Will more couples appear?
4) What will happen tomorrow?
5) Who is this new regular Kevin talked about?
6) Who sent Ryoma the package?
7) What actually happened to Ryo-chan?
8) What is Fuji feeling?
9) What is Yuki feeling?
10) What Akaya feeling?
11) Why is Akaya such a klutz?
12) Why can't the regulars ever play a normal game of Hide-and-go-Seek?
and of course...
13) Who will Ryoma end up with?
This is the last chapter you may vote on...so VOTE!
Please Read and Review and Vote! There is something special for my 100th review! ^_^
