Momo grabbed the boys shoulders happily.
"Finally!" He brought the boy in a tight embrace, efficiently scaring him. But something wasn't right.
Inui, Fuji, and Tezuka made eye contact, all three sensing something was off.
"Do you remember what happened to you?" Fuji asked. Momo let go of the boy who turned to Fuji. He shook is head.
"No." But Momo shrugged it off.
"Of course not. Its been much too long. He probably needs some sleep or something, and then he'll remember."
Ryoma gave the man a blank look, the closed his eyes and shook his head.
"No, I wont."
Now it was Momo's turn to give the blank look.
"What do you mean?"
"He means, he isn't really Ryoma." Inui said, the group turned to him confused. "He is a memory of Ryoma. The memories that were scattered in the forest. This is one of them."
Now eight pairs of eyes were staring right at the young boy, which made him shift nervously. Eiji, who couldn't handle how adorable the boy was, immediately tackled the poor boy in a bear hug.
"Eiji!" Oishi exclaimed startled by the sudden action.
"Nya sorry, but he was just so cute!" Eiji rubbed his cheek against the boys flushed ones happily.
"He's also quiet naked." Inui stated bluntly. When Eiji realized what he had just said, he immediately jumped back, blush covering his face.
"Sorry," he mumbled. Fuji let out a chuckle clearly amused.
Tezuka had taken the initiative to introduce the team to the young boy, who nodded at each of them. But when he introduced Momo, Ryoma had said he already known him. Momo was the one that had awakened him. When he touched the memory and freed a part of Ryoma, he had given him back the memories of Momo's ancestors and everything connected to that. He also had forged a connection towards Momo from that.
After that had been explained, the group went quiet.
"So… what do we do now?" Kawamura asked breaking the silence. Of course the group got Ryoma, but it was only a small part of him. There were other parts of him that deadly forest, and they had to go back.
Tezuka took in the sight before him: Momo's injured leg as he leaned against Kaidoh, the naked boy who seemed to be lost for a thousand years, the obviously worn out group. And there was Eiji and Fuji who Tezuka still wasn't sure they were alright from their previous episode.
"We need to find a place to rest, and re-supply, and in Momo's case; heal. We'll go from there." Tezuka stated with finality.
"But where exactly are we?" Momo noticed his surroundings and realized they had changed from the previous ones.
"The clouds must have been moving while we were in the forest. This would explain the new territory." Inui explained. Fuji stepped to the edge of the land and closed his eyes. He was concentrating on the wind to find out where they are, but it got difficult when he realized he kept seeing visions of his family and friends, once again, in pain and dying.
He still concentrated on the location, listening to the wind, and not voice in his head telling him his family and friends were dying and it was all his fault. When he finally got the information he needed, Fuji immediately broke contact with the wind. He turned to the group with a smile on his face, which seemed strained to them all, but no one mentioned anything.
"There is a kingdom called Hyotei nearby. We can stop there." His voice, though calm, was out of breath. They all agreed and climbed back onto Karupin, pausing slightly to help Ryoma, who immediately took a liking to her, and took off. They flew for a while with Fuji leading the way, telling Tezuka where to go, and tensing occasionally. Tezuka chose to ignore it, for now.
Soon they were able to see a rather large, and rather fancy, kingdom. It was clear it was very busy with people bustling all over.
"Right there." Fuji pointed. Tezuka gave Karupin the instructions and they landed next to the entrance. They all hopped off the cat and made their way to the entrance when a jumpy redhead came in their way.
"Well hello there, and who might you be?" He gave the group a suspicious look, mostly looking at the young boy who was only wearing blanket.
"We were set on a mission by Ryuuzaki, I'm sure you have heard of us." Tezuka stepped in the redheads line of vision, bringing his attention to the group. His eyes widened as he finally realized who they all were.
"Yes, of course! Hello! I'm Mukahi Gakuto!" The redhead was so full of energy he started jumped, but soon he was making jumps that seemed impossible for humans to make. He was jumped at least six to ten feet in the air.
The group stared at him in fascination.
"Mukahi Gakuto of Hyotei, known for his acrobatics in any fight, his high jumps, but low stamina. Almost equal to Eiji." Inui stated. Gakuto stopped jumping at the sound of Eiji.
"Eiji? Eiji Kikumaru?" He asked.
"Yes?" Eiji asked. Gakuto turned his attention to the other acrobatic redhead and pointed dramatically.
"You!" He yelled, scaring the group slightly. "You are my rival!"
Eiji seemed to get annoyed of this, but chose to ignore the outburst. He didn't feel like fighting over trivial. He continued to ignore Gakuto as he continued on talking about how he would beat Eiji and so one and so forth, until another person came, this time one with blue hair, and spectacles.
"What's all the commotion here Mukahi?" He asked.
"Ah! Yuushi! These are the guys sent by Ryuuzaki from Seigaku!"
The one known as Yuushi raised an eyebrow delicately.
"Really?" He turned to the group. "Hello, I'm Oshitari Yuushi, welcome to Hyotei."
The group bowed, except Ryoma, who stared at them all in confusion. Oshitari noticed the practically naked boy at last. "Is that…?"
The question trailed off, but everyone knew where it was going. When they all nodded, Gakuto covered his mouth in surprise.
"Come. We'll take you to Atobe."
Oshitari appointed some guards to the front gate, then he and Gakuto started leading the group to the palace in the center of the town. Momo and Kaidoh walked close to Ryoma, attempting to cover him from anyone in the town. Kawamura walked behind them, doing the same. Inui was taking in his surroundings and examining everything. Eiji was trying to ignore the random glares he would get from Gakuto. And Oishi noticed Fuji limping slightly, and looking a little pale.
"Fuji, you alright?" He whispered. Fuji gave weak smile and nodded.
"Just a little tired."
Oishi nodded, but was not satisfied. He ruffled through his bag and took out a small vile with a clear liquid.
"Drink some of this. It'll give you the strength you need."
Fuji gave a grateful smile and drank the liquid from its container. Oishi relaxed slightly, but something kept nagging in the back of his head. He turned to Eiji to find him looking pretty normal, but also lacking some energy. When he asked Eiji if he was ok, he go the same reply as Fuji had given. Oishi handed him a vile of the same substance he had given to Fuji.
"Thanks Oishi!" Eiji seems to be feeling slightly better, as well as Fuji, who's smile got somewhat brighter. Oishi let himself relax slightly, hoping the two would be feeling better later, without the extra energy boost needed. Though he guessed it was normal since they just went through hell in that forest, the group needed some proper rest.
When they entered the throne room of the great Atobe, they saw a man sitting on a throne, looking very cocky, and staring at the group with a spark in his eyes.
"Ah Tezuka, I was wondering when I'd be able to see you."
The group turned to Tezuka.
"You know him Tezuka?" Kawamura asked. Tezuka said nothing as he stared with indifferent eyes.
"Atobe." He greeted.
"What brings you here?"
Tezuka turned to the group and nodded. They understood and parted revealing the hidden Ryoma, still holding confusion in his eyes.
Atobe's eyes widened as he stepped off his throne and walked straight up the boy.
"This… this Ryoma Echizen, isn't it?"
He looked at a random person, that happened to be Inui, who nodded quietly. He returned his gaze to the boy in front of him, who stared back with big eyes. Just as he was about to open his mouth though, the throne room door opened and in came a group of people that were the same age as all of them. Atobe shook himself out of his daze, still glancing at Ryoma randomly. Kaidoh, Momo, and Kawamura returned to hiding Ryoma.
"Yukimura, how are you," Atobe greeted a mellow looking man, who had a smile slightly similar to Fuji's.
"Atobe, I am well, how are you?" The one known as Yukimura said. They shook hands briefly.
"I am very actually. I have some pressing matters to attend to at the moment, but since you are here…" He turned back to Tezuka, who nodded. "We have much to discuss."
"What has happened?" Sanada asked as he eyed the group. "Isn't this the group sent by Ryuuzaki?"
Atobe merely nodded as the group behind him parted once again to reveal Ryoma. Yumimura's eyes widened considerably.
"No…" He was stunned.
"It cant be…" Sana was speechless.
"It is. This is Ryoma Echizen."
XXXXXXX
Okay, once again I'm sorry for not updating fast enough or anything. Truly I am. I started this actually because I wanted to take my mind off some things that have been happening at my house lately. Once again, I'm very sorry, and I'll try to get more done for this story, if you guys even feel like reading it anymore.
Thank you.
